NATCHEZ — Natchez Police Chief Walter Armstrong last week became President of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police for the 2018-2019 term.

Armstrong said he plans to use the position to continue pushing laws that will keep Mississippians safe.

Armstrong learned last year that he would assume the role, but he was officially installed as president of the organization last Thursday at a conference in Biloxi, succeeding John Miller of the Biloxi Police Department.

“The goal of the executive board, and everybody on the executive board, is to push for laws that will benefit law enforcement, whether it be training or whether it be laws to keep the citizens safe,” Armstrong said.

The association lists its mission as promoting professionalism throughout the ranks of Mississippi law enforcement officers and bolstering quality education via training and other programs.

Armstrong had served as the association’s first vice president before rising to the rank of president.

A 34-year veteran of law enforcement, Armstrong served 25 years with the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol before becoming the police chief in Vicksburg for the next eight years.

He then came to Natchez and began his stint as police chief on Aug. 1, 2017. The newly named president is a Panola County native who attended Alcorn State University, where he received both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, according to a statement by the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police.

Armstrong also is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Dale Carnegie Leadership Training, Mississippi Law Enforcement Command College and the Rural Executive Management Institute at the University of Arkansas, as well as a recipient of the 2017 Jim Ingram Lifetime Achievement Award, the statement says.