Black History Month: assistant police chief Kelvin Evans provides example for others

BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. — Kelvin Evans moved to Haywood County when he was five years old.

“I graduated Haywood High School in 1988 where I played football and did the usual things kids do,”said Evans, the Brownsville Police Department Assistant Police Chief.

But those years weren’t the easiest.

“7th grade year, I was going to Sunny Hill School when my dad passed,” Evans said.

He and his brother were raised by their mom. Evans then went to UT Martin before transferring to then Memphis State.

“During my second year at Memphis State, my mom passed. I kind of withdrew from school to take care of business,” Evans said.

Throughout that time, Evans was participating in a ride along process with the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office.

“The sheriff came in one day, and he offered me a job,” Evans said.

From 1991 to 2010, Evans worked in several different divisions with the sheriff’s office, before moving to the Brownsville Police Department.

“Started over, went from a lieutenant to patrol man, started over again in patrol,” Evans said.

This wasn’t the only thing Evans would have to go through again.

“My wife passed a couple of years ago,” Evans said.

Even though Evans says he’s lost several family members throughout his life, the police department in Brownsville has become like a second family to him.

“I had family here. The chief and some of the guys, they got me and we went over there and they were there by my side the whole time,” said Evans.

Now Evans is raising his 15-year-old daughter by himself. Through all this loss, he was able to keep one promise for his mom.

“I promised one thing after she passed, that I’d finish, three years ago I finished my degree in organizational leadership,” Evans said.

Evans says he was the first in his family to graduate from college, and he wants to inspire his daughter to do the same.

They plan to start visiting colleges this summer.