AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety has named Jason Bobo chief of the Texas Rangers Division, placing a longtime Ranger with extensive investigative and crime-scene experience at the helm of the storied division.
The Public Safety Commission confirmed Bobo’s promotion during a meeting at DPS headquarters in Austin. He will succeed Chief Scotty Shiver, who is retiring after 31 years with DPS. Ranger Major Kip Westmoreland will become assistant chief of the Texas Rangers Division.
Both appointments take effect Sept. 1.
“The Rangers are more than an iconic symbol of Texas — they represent a legacy of service, courage and commitment that stretches back more than two centuries,” DPS Director Col. Freeman F. Martin said in a statement. “Today, as we welcome our new chief, we are not simply passing a title; we are passing the torch of a centuries-old legacy.”
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Honoring Chief Scotty Shiver’s career
Shiver has led the Texas Rangers Division since February 2024. He began his DPS career in 1995 with the Texas Highway Patrol in Navasota and later Huntsville.
In 2001, he was promoted to sergeant/investigator in the Criminal Law Enforcement Division, where he worked motor vehicle theft cases in Arlington and Houston. He also served on the DPS SWAT Team.
Shiver joined the Texas Rangers in 2011, initially assigned to Company C in Lubbock before transferring to Company A in Houston. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2014 and held a series of leadership positions within the Rangers’ Special Response Teams, including lieutenant coordinator, precision rifle coordinator and team leader for SRT-5.
He became a Ranger captain in 2017 and later a major, overseeing first the Public Integrity Unit and then the Special Operations Group at DPS headquarters. In November 2021, Shiver was appointed regional director for the Capitol Region, a role he held until becoming Rangers chief.
“Scotty Shiver has served the Texas Rangers and the Texas Department of Public Safety with tremendous dedication, and we are grateful for his years of service and leadership,” Martin said.
Shiver holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Texas at Arlington and a master’s degree in security management from American Military University. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy’s 276th session.
Bobo brings investigative and Ranger leadership experience
Bobo began his DPS career in 1999 as a Texas Highway Patrol trooper, serving in that role until 2005. He then became a sergeant in the Criminal Law Enforcement Division, where he worked narcotics and auto theft investigations through 2009.
He joined the Texas Rangers in 2010 and has served in a range of investigative and leadership assignments. Before becoming assistant chief in August 2025, Bobo served as team leader for Company F’s Crime Scene Team.
He also was a longtime member of the Texas Rangers Major Crime Scene Investigation Team and the division’s Crime Scene Working Group. DPS said his work has included statewide training, policy development and implementation of advanced investigative techniques.
Bobo is a certified crime scene investigator through the International Association for Identification and a graduate of the University of Tennessee’s National Forensic Academy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and police science from Sam Houston State University and is certified as a Texas Master Peace Officer and TCOLE Basic Instructor.
Westmoreland promoted to assistant chief
Westmoreland began his DPS career in 1998 and has worked in the Texas Highway Patrol in Alvin, the DPS Narcotics Service in Houston and Rosenberg, and as a Texas Ranger in Eastland, Richmond, Tyler, Austin, Garland and Houston.
He has served on the Texas Ranger Reconnaissance Team, which was established to target drug trafficking and alien smuggling organizations along the Texas-Mexico border. As a Ranger captain, Westmoreland planned tactical missions along the international border and led the team operating the state’s Border Security Operations Center in Austin.
Most recently, as a Ranger major, he commanded Ranger Company A, which covers the 35 counties in DPS’ Southeast Texas Region.
Westmoreland served in the U.S. Marine Corps and is a 2017 graduate of the DPS Command College. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
Bobo and Westmoreland will be stationed at DPS headquarters in Austin.
