The City of Marion has appointed an interim police chief.
The city named Nikisha Gailes, former chief of Pine Hill police department in Wilcox County, to lead the department after Marion’s chief and three other officers resigned last week for better paying jobs elsewhere. The resignations came at the first council meeting of the newly elected mayor and city council.
Gailes was not renewed as chief by Pine Hill’s newly elected mayor and council that took over on Nov. 3. She spent 21 years with the department and has 31 years of law enforcement experience.
The city of Marion in a statement heralded Gailes as their first female police chief.
Gailes is a Putnam native and 1991 graduate of Sweet Water High School.
Chief Gailes served with the Bastrop Police Department before returning home to Alabama.
She became the first female officer to serve with the Marengo County Sheriff’s Department and later the Pine Hill Police Department. Joining Pine Hill PD in 2004, she was promoted to Sergeant in 2005 and, in 2015, became the first appointed female Chief of Police.
Interim Chief Gailes has served as an investigator, sergeant, assistant police chief and chief of police.
In February 2025, Chief Gailes became a Certified Executive Law Enforcement Officer by the State of Alabama. She is also the third African-American woman in Alabama to serve as a Chief of Police.
“We are honored to welcome Interim Chief Gailes to the City of Marion,” said Mayor Dexter Hinton in a statement. “Her experience, integrity and strong leadership record speak for themselves. She is highly respected across the law enforcement community, and we are confident in her ability to guide the department forward during this transitional period.”
Marion officials said in the statement that Interim Chief Gailes was appointed “under exigent circumstances; however, Marion remains committed to a fair and transparent hiring process.”
Applications for the permanent Chief of Police position are now open in accordance with state and municipal policy, the statement said.
Cindy Fisher is Publisher of the Black Belt News Network and Selma Sun. You can reach her by emailing cfisher@blackbeltnewsnetwork.com.
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