By Noah Chandler
The Cullman Times
March 29, 2008 07:26 pm
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A kind and tenderhearted man may not be the image that comes to mind when people here the phrase “chief of police.”
But if you ask Diane Culpepper, wife of Cullman City Police Chief Kenny Culpepper, she will tell you those words perfectly describe her better half.
“He has a huge heart and is very proud of the police department and the officers,” Diane Culpepper said. “He loves what he does — helping people. He is just the kindest person I have ever met and the best thing to happen to me. Like my mother would say, ‘He is better than sliced bread.’”
The two were married on June 15, 1985. But before the wedding came the couple’s first meeting. Culpepper said the first time she met Kenny was after he encountered a minor accident.
“Well, actually we met at the drug store where I worked. He burned his leg on his motorcycle at a gas station where my sister worked,” Culpepper said. “She mentioned I worked at the drug store and that he should come over there and get something for his burn, and that’s how I met him. She called me and told me a really nice guy was coming over and I sold him some burn cream.”
Culpepper said her future husband had many qualities that attracted her to him.
“He had a great personality, very outgoing, and he liked to do a lot of interesting things like scuba diving and repelling,” Culpepper said. “I was just attracted to him.”
Most officers work strenuous and odd hours, and the chief is no exception. Culpepper said the type of work and hours her husband works doesn’t typically bother her.
“He’s really good at his job. I don’t really worry about him, but normally I don’t know what is going on until after the fact,” Culpepper said. “He’ll come in and tell me what has happened. But occasionally we will get the late-night phone call and he has to take off somewhere. He’ll tell me a tiny bit about what’s going on and that’s when I worry until he comes driving up. He’s very good at what he does, and that is one thing he has always stressed to myself and our children.”
The chief doesn’t stop serving the community once he has left his office. Culpepper said on several occasions Kenny has had to make arrests when the couple has been out.
“Sometimes the two lives meld together, especially when we go to the grocery store and he has to make an arrest while we are shopping,” Culpepper said. “We were at the grocery store and one of the ladies working said this guy was buying all these matches and she was worried. Kenny goes up and talked to the guy and ended up arresting him. He had to call for a marked car to come to the store as he made the arrest. He is always on duty, but I don’t mind.”
When holidays and birthdays roll around, the chief gets to provide some added security to his loved ones. Culpepper said this past Christmas was unusually exciting.
“I got a pink taser for Christmas. So that’s what Kenny always stressed with us, safety, and beware of your surroundings,” Culpepper said. “He got our daughter Kelsey some pepper spray. So she is fixing to be driving and of course, the father is worried about his children. I think he’s more so because of what he does and the things he sees.”
When asked if her husband’s job ever put a strain on their family, including the couple’s three children, Cody, 20, Clint, 17, and Kelsey ,15, Culpepper sat back in her chair and paused.
“Yes, but his job was not really the strain. He got activated for Desert Storm in 1990 and he was away for three months. Our children were real young at the time and it was really hard being separated from him,” Culpepper said. “He called home once and said he found an Oreo cookie with a bit out of it in his boot, which was one of the boys’ cookies. Kenny said it made him really homesick when he found it in his boot.”
Culpepper said the good times have outweighed the bad during the couple’s 23-year marriage. She said her husband has done so many good things that it is hard for her to think of just one. So she gave two.
“One was when he went to the National FBI Academy. I am very proud of him for completing the academy,” she said. “Also, when he retired with 20 years with the special forces. He got to see the world and he made some great friends through the special forces that he still sees.”
Of course, with the good and bad must come the funny. Culpepper said her husband has had some interesting encounters while working for the police department.
“About 20 years ago when he was a patrolman he had a call. Some neighbors were concerned about this lady that lived by herself. They hadn’t seen her around and thought she may have died,” Culpepper said. “So Kenny and his partner go over there and the doors were locked and no one would come to the door. So they go around and pry a window open. His partner was going to boost him up so he could look through the window.”
“But, he boosted him too hard and Kenny went flying through the window and landed on top of the lady, who was sick. She jumped and screamed and he screamed, because he thought she was deceased. I thought that was pretty funny. She got help and it turned out fine, but they both got scared half to death.”
When asked if there was anything else Culpepper would like to say about her husband, she once again sat back in her chair and paused.
“He is calm and collective in a time of crisis. When most people would be stressed out, he remains calm,” Culpepper said. “It’s just wonderful being married to the kindest hearted man in town.”
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