Retired Decatur police Chief Ed Taylor dies at 73

Bayne Hughes, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
Updated ·2 min read

Apr. 30—Retired Police Chief Ed Taylor died Monday morning, the Decatur Police Department announced. He was 73.

Retired Patrol Sgt. Randy Cavnar served with and under Taylor for 31 years at DPD. He said Taylor had cancer.

"We all knew it was coming," Cavnar said Monday. "But it was still extremely hard when I heard that he had died this morning."

According to DPD, Taylor began his career with the department in December 1974. Taylor rose through the ranks and served in numerous capacities throughout his career including patrol, Criminal Investigations Division and the training division. He was appointed to the major position in August 2007.

Taylor was sworn in as police chief in July 2010. He held this rank until retiring in 2016 after 41 years in law enforcement.

"He helped put our department on the map in a very positive way, especially when he became captain and then chief," Cavnar said. "He just knew how to lead. I never saw him raise his voice. He was always at even keel. People had so much respect for him."

Cavnar said Taylor, who started the DPD's Special Response Team, emphasized training and police liability.

"He always constantly repeated, 'liability, liability, liability,'" Cavnar said. "And, when I became patrol sergeant where I was on the frontline for making decisions that affected the department, that was always the first thing on my mind."

Cavnar, who retired in 2011, said Taylor was also a boss who showed how much he cared. His brother, Phil Cavnar, was the East Limestone High School head football coach and a Decatur native. He died in 2005 of a brain aneurism, and the visitation line was long at Roselawn Funeral Home.

"Visitation didn't end until 10 (minutes) before midnight," Cavnar said. "The line was so long, (Taylor) left and came back when a lot of people left because it was so long. I became emotional because it meant a lot to me that my boss was there so late."

Taylor also led the local Special Olympics effort and the Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Special Olympics. He was selected to the 24-member U.S. delegation of officers running the torch for the Australian World Games and then inducted into the Alabama Torch Run Hall of Fame.

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432