BY KEITH LIPPOLDT
klippoldt@gbtribune.com
After 30 years in law enforcement, Chris Nixon could have walked away from the crimes and the criminals. But no. Instead, he chose to move back to familiar territory and continue doing what he can to keep the peace.
Nixon began his law enforcement career with the Barton County Sheriff’s Office in 1994. After working his way up to Sergeant, he left for the Wichita Police Department in 2001. In August 2024, he retired from the WPD and became Chief of Police in Claflin.
The transition to chief has been smooth as Nixon is following Gary Vaughan, Nixon’s stepfather, as chief of this Barton County city of approximately 550 residents. And the fact that Vaughan is such a respected figure in Claflin, Nixon isn’t having to chase a bunch of crime.
“I would say Gary is probably the main reason why Claflin is the way it is today,” Nixon said. “He’s done a lot for this community. They struggled for seven months to find his replacement, until I got the job. He’s so dedicated to this community. He was covering this when he was going through cancer treatments, other physical challenges and ailments. He loves this town, and he knows everyone and everything about this town. He’s been such a valuable asset.”
With 30-years of law enforcement experience in both small towns and larger cities, Nixon was ready for the move. And he’s learning first-hand the difference between the two isn’t in the crimes, just the volume.
“The call load is the difference” he said. “It’s the same calls, just not as many. And in a town like Claflin, there are fewer things for bad people to do. You don’t see the same type of criminal activity as you do in the city because everybody usually knows everyone. So, the criminals tend to stand out in smaller communities a lot easier. You kind of know who troubled people are. You get history on them.
“You just know everybody. You know everybody that lives in every house. You know what they drive. You know if something’s out of place. It’s a little easier to keep things from happening, because you just know the normalcy of things.”
Being a rural town on the far edge of the county, it would be easy to suspect that Claflin has fallen victim to drugs, criminals and neglect like many other rural Kansas towns. Nixon said that is not the case in his town. He believes that once a town loses its businesses, and they become just residential areas, that’s when the criminal activity really picks up.
“When I was in the Barton County Sheriff’s Office, we spent a lot of time in the smaller communities,” Nixon said. “They had a lot of rental properties. Anytime you have a lot of rental properties, people tend to hop town to town, especially if they got in trouble in one. I have been purging evidence from the past 30 years. There was a lot of drugs I’ve destroyed. But, over the last 10 years, there have been very few cases of that. This community is all about community.”
Nixon, to this point, doesn’t have the same modern technology and equipment a city like Wichita has, but he says they are working to bring the department up to speed, especially on the technology side.
”We’re getting into the 21st century as far as the way things are operated,” he said. “Computers, getting things up to date there so we can be a little more efficient, Evidence, getting that squared away where it’s getting things purged that don’t need to be here any longer because cases are closed. It’s just getting things updated and on track, and then being consistent with coverage. Because it’s me and Gary for the most part, and then I have eight part-timers. So, I’ve got people out here seven days a week now.”
With himself as the only full-time person on the force, he relies on his part-time staff of Vaughan and the eight others, but that still leaves him on 24-hour call each day.
“Without the part-timers, it would be very difficult,” Nixon said. “On a normal week, I’m on call. If somebody calls, I’ll leave home and go take care of whatever needs to be taken care of. At the same time, I’ve reached out to Lieutenant David Paden (Barton County Sheriff’s Office) when I need them to cover and they’re very helpful. Having 24/7 coverage is important.”
Even with over 30-years of law enforcement experience, Nixon knows the value of a trusted and respected right-hand man, in this case, stepdad Vaughan.
“He loves this town,” Nixon said. “He knows everyone. He knows everything about this town. He’s been a valuable asset. I still ask him questions. I still get information from him. He’s still doing code enforcement. He lives and breathes it. He loves this place.”
Leaving the hustle of the big city and making the move back to Claflin has been great for Nixon, the father of three adult children and three grandchildren.
My stress level is significantly lower now,” he said. “I’ve been working 60-plus hours a week for the past five years and I still have a lot to do. I’m just happy to be here. This is more my lifestyle and everything I do and love is up here.”
