Former Cape police chief to direct SEMO academy

Former Cape Girardeau police chief Carl Kinnison was recently appointed director of the Law Enforcement Academy at Southeast Missouri State University. He will replace Dr. Michael Brown, who has announced his retirement after 25 years.

Kinnison has more than 33 years of law enforcement experience. He retired as police chief Tuesday after serving for nearly seven years. Before becoming chief of police, he served as the department's public information officer for 15 years, in addition to roles as captain of operations, assistant chief, patrolman, sergeant and lieutenant.

In addition to his role as director at the academy, Kinnison will teach classes as a faculty member in the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology at Southeast. He has been a part-time instructor of criminal justice courses at the university for more than 15 years and has taught a variety of classes for the SEMO Regional Law Enforcement Academy for more than 20 years. He also taught a senior level criminal justice management class at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.