Prior to being appointed as the Chief in Norristown, Chief Talbot served as the Director of the Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation (BEI) with the Pennsylvania Department of State overseeing operations of four regional offices across the state.

Chief Talbot began his career in policing with the Reading Police Department, retiring in 2011 as the Deputy Chief of Police. He is an adjunct instructor for Penn State's Justice and Safety Institute, having taught law enforcement professionals throughout the country on such topics as leadership, management, performance improvement, and strategic crime reduction. He is a graduate of the Police Executive Research Forum's Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) in Boston, Massachusetts.

Describe a discovery you made as a Black man

Being a police officer has offered some unique insights into human nature. Throughout my years in law enforcement I've seen both the best and worst of human nature. I've seen a countless number of Black men and women defying the odds and becoming successful despite enormous obstacles in their way. I've also seen those who chose to take a path in life that inevitably led to some form of human tragedy. I've discovered that for some of us, no challenge is too much to overcome, and for others, no advantage is big enough to sustain progress.

How do you push through your worst times?

I push through tough times by continually challenging myself to be the best person that I can be. I'm a believer in having the right attitude about any type of obstacle. It is up to each of us to use our tough times as a springboard to our next big accomplishment. Pushing through the worst of times is about deciding to be the kind of person that never gives up. Never. Give. Up.

What’s a soul-restoring story about Black family life.

Soul-restoring for me looks like this: my firstborn, Mark Jr, doing very well in a sales career in New York, a son, Michael, who is a sergeant in the Marine Corps; a daughter, Jasmine, who is a corrections officer; a son, Chris, who is a recent college grad and in the fall will be heading to Yale Law School; a 10th grade daughter, Jada, who was just voted in as class president at her high school— and my wife of 22 years, Brenda, who has devoted her life to raising our family.