Bullard Police Officer Steven Anderson, in a patrol car above, is the department’s newest officer, whicle Officer Mark Stone, right, started with the department about a year ago. Bullard Police Officer Steven Anderson patrols the city streets in the dead of night, keeping Bullard citizens safe while most are sleeping.

BPD Chief Gary Lewis has officers patrolling at all hours, but as the department’s newest officer, newly-married Anderson has the tough graveyard shift four days each week.

Despite the late hours, Anderson said he enjoys working in Bullard.

“I prefer Bullard over Tyler any day,” he said. “It’s a little slower pace and I like that.”

After working for the Tyler Police Department, Anderson, who is from Troup, had a brief stint working in the oilfield before returning to law enforcement. He said he “toyed with the idea” of working in a smaller town before deciding on Bullard. Ander- son and his wife, Brittany, are expecting their first child next year.

(Banner Staff Photos by Don Treul) Anderson said Bullard has little crime, even for a small town. Most of his calls are for traffic problems, such as wrecks and the like, especially on U.S. Highway 69. He said he does not expect to answer calls such as the one he responded to in Tyler, which involved chasing a man without clothing who was running down a city street.

“As I was running after him, my one thought was, ‘what am I going to do when I catch him?’”

Anderson, who is 25, keeps his eyes open for potential crime in Bullard when the city is at its dark- est. While he has only been in Bullard briefly, he is happy to be here.

“The people in Bullard are great,” he said. “Everybody’s close-knit.”

Anderson echoes the feelings of fellow officer Mark Stone, who started working for the Bullard Police Department about a year ago.

“You get to know the people a lot quicker here,” Stone said. “They’re super, super nice.”

Stone, 41, has been in law enforcement in East Texas for five years, including stints in Whitehouse and Henderson before coming to Bullard.

Stone and Anderson are members of the force that includes Lewis, Senior Sgt. Bryan Richards, Patrol Sgt. Jeff Bragg, who also is the canine officer, Sgt. John Walker, who also is the Bullard Independent School District Resource Officer, and fellow officer Steven Morris. Mary Dautreuil is the police secretary.