Investigator Chris Byrd started his career in law enforcement after the loss of his son, Andrew. Byrd felt that he could give back to the citizens who helped him and his family through their time of grief. In 1999, Byrd graduated from the South West Alabama Police Academy while working for the Gantt Police Department. He began working full time with the Covington County Sheriff’s Department in 2000 until 2011. He was employed by the Andalusia Police Department in 2014 as a night shift patrol officer.

Throughout his law enforcement career, he has worked in several capacities to include K9 handler, patrol, and most currently as a criminal investigator.

Investigator Byrd is married to Amy Watts Byrd, also a native of Covington County, and they have two children. He, like the majority to APD officers, is a fan of the Crimson Tide and hopes to one day convert his son Zach who continues to pull for the Auburn Tigers. He’s a proud graduate of Straughn High School.  Byrd says his favorite meal is a T-Bone steak and dessert would be Crème Brulee. While not cooking a good steak for his family he enjoys what his wife Amy loving refers to as “junking.” He enjoys attending auctions and flipping items for resale.

His advice to those who want to join the law enforcement community is, “to do it for the right reasons. Starting a LE career should be for protecting and serving your community. It’s a hard to get a badge pinned on your chest but it’s easy to get it taken away. Remember that every person that breaks the law are not bad people but sometimes make bad decisions. Be respectful. Be courteous while doing your job and majority of the time the response will be the same from those you deal with. Last but not least, always remember your actions off duty reflect your reputation as a police officer so make the right decisions.”

Chief Paul Hudson said that hiring someone as experienced as Byrd was an easy choice. They’ve worked together most of their law enforcement careers in some capacity and when it came time to hire Byrd to work at APD, it wasn’t a hard decision, “Byrd has brought several years of experience to the department and has been influential to several officers. Investigator Byrd is a great asset to APD as he brings a vast amount of knowledge and experience.