In a family with three generations of car mechanics, Redstone Police Maj. Derek Campbell had a different interest – law enforcement.
“It was always a fascination since I was a kid,” Campbell, chief of operations for Redstone Police Department, said. “Always seeing the police cars and officers doing their job, and of course then there’s a Hollywood aspect of always seeing them doing cool guy stuff.”
During Friday’s quarterly Garrison awards ceremony, he will be recognized as Redstone Police Officer of the Year for 2024. He was nominated by Deputy Chief Dennis Brown and voted the award’s winner by the department. The police department is authorized 52 members.
“The biggest reason why I nominated him is that he has an excellent work ethic,” Brown said. “He’s very knowledgeable and shares his knowledge with his subordinates. He’s very customer friendly and has helped develop the department’s relationship with local civilian agencies.
“He was instrumental in securing the special salary rate for law enforcement officers at Redstone which is essential to our recruitment and retention. We worked almost eight years trying to get that approved by headquarters DA (Department of Army).”
Campbell, a Gurley native, joined the Redstone Police Department in April 2023. He was the captain of the traffic section. In April 2024, he was promoted to major for chief of operations. He has two years of federal service as an Army civilian police officer.
This is his 15th year in law enforcement. Campbell graduated from Madison County High School in 2008, had a little college and then entered law enforcement. The city of Madison hired him as a police officer when he was 20 and he turned 21 two days before he started. He was a Madison police officer from 2010-17 and an Alabama state trooper from 2017-23.
Campbell, 35, graduated from the Northeast Alabama Law Enforcement Academy in 2011, the Alabama State Trooper Academy in 2017 and the Department of the Army Civilian Police Academy in 2023.
“It’s a big honor,” he said of becoming Redstone police officer of the year. “It’s also surprising. I think once you win an award that’s pretty much decided by your peers, that says a lot to me.”
The Huntsville resident and his wife of seven years, Lisa, have a daughter, Norah, 10, and two sons, Reece, 6, and Robby, 2. Campbell said he likes watching baseball, helping coach Reece’s team, smoking cigars and just being with the family.
“The main goal for me is to raise a successful family,” he said. “For work (the goal is) to make everyone better and to progress the department. To my peers, I appreciate the award.”
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