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Those of us who have been at The Eagle for a certain length of time remember when staff photographer Choya Walling decided to join the Bryan Police Department full time. It came as a little surprise, but really not that much.
Walling had already gone to work for the department as an unpaid reserve officer. He had a strong sense of right and wrong and a genuine desire to help people, so the announcement in July 1977 wasn't totally unexpected. Of course, we hated to lose a good photographer but we knew Bryan was gaining a good police officer.
Time and again over the next 30 years, we were proven right. Walling simply was one of the best in a department full of good officers. We had ample opportunity to keep track of Walling's career because it was a very public one. For 15 years, he served as a spokesman for the department, a position that kept him in close contact with the media. In that role, he understood the needs of the department, but he had a great appreciation of the needs of the media and he worked hard to bring them as close together as possible.
Walling was more than just a spokesman, though. He was a true innovator, starting the department's D.A.R.E, Neighborhood Watch and Citizen Police Academy. He also created CRIMEBYTE, one of the nation's first computer-driven crime-prevention tools, and, in 2005, the department's first recruiting video.
Although he is still a young man, Walling decided it was time to retire from the Bryan Police Department. The department and the entire community are the poorer for that decision. He's worked hard for the citizens of Bryan for three decades, though, and he deserves a chance to relax a bit.
That doesn't mean we won't miss him. We thank Walling for 30 years of exemplary service to the community and we wish him all the best.
