New Chief announced in Chapel Hill

Below are excepts from the Town's press release announcing the selection of Thomas McCarthy to be Chapel Hill's new Chief of Police starting June 25. The press release is unclear about where the new chief worked immediately before applying for this position, but in his picture he's wearing a uniform from Fayetteville. The Interim Chief in Fayetteville apparently took the helm upon McCarthy's retirement on February 1, 2007. Hmm, any connection to our new manager?

Following a comprehensive search and selection process, Town Manager Roger L. Stancil today (Tuesday, March 6) announced the selection of Thomas McCarthy as the new chief of police for Chapel Hill.

McCarthy, who is recognized nationally for innovation in community policing, will assume the position on June 25. He will earn an annual salary of $122,000. Police Major Brian Curran will serve as interim chief beginning on April 1, which is the date that Police Chief Gregg Jarvies plans to retire.

[...]

McCarthy began his career as an officer in the Newport News, Va., Police Department. While there, he served with Chief Darrel Stephens (now chief of the Charlotte Police Department), as they developed and implemented the nation's first problem-oriented policing project. He has spent the past 30 years at the forefront of the community policing movement and is recognized nationally as a leader in its implementation.

He rose to the rank of commander in Newport News before leaving for Gaston County. McCarthy also served as police chief in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as well as Gaston County and Fayetteville, N.C. In addition to his law enforcement experience, he served as deputy county manager in Gaston County from 1994 to 1998.

"Chapel Hill is a very special community," McCarthy said. "I am excited about working with the community in making it an even safer place in which to live, work and learn."

The police chief position was advertised nationally to draw a diverse pool of qualified and outstanding candidates. A total of 57 applications were received from around the country.

[...]

The assessment center consisted of a structured panel interview, a public presentation and interaction with citizens, a subordinate role play, and a management team role-playing exercise to observe candidate performance.

Individuals who served as assessors include the following: Delores Bailey, executive director of Empowerment Inc.; Clarence Birkhead, police chief for the Town of Hillsborough; Fred Black, community representative; George Cianciolo, community representative; Steve Hampton, police chief for the City of Statesville, N.C.; Jonathan Howes, special assistant to the chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill; Dan Jones, fire chief for the Town of Chapel Hill; Dick McMahon, consultant; Tom Moss, police chief for the Town of Garner; Steve Stewart, manager for the Town of Carrboro; Becky Veazey, consultant; James Woodall, district attorney for Orange County; and Mike Yaniero, police chief for the City of Jacksonville.

Individuals who played roles during assessments include the following: James Allred, student body president for UNC-Chapel Hill; Fred Battle, community representative; Mike Collins, community representative; Pam Eastwood, human resources director for the Town of Chapel Hill; Rev. Stephen Elkins-Williams of the Chapel of the Cross; Melissa Exum, dean of students for UNC-Chapel Hill; Don Hamilton, captain of the Cary Police Department; Bill Letteri, public works director for the Town of Chapel Hill; Lance Norris, inspections director for the Town of Chapel Hill; Ralph Pendergraph, former police chief for the Town of Chapel Hill; Dale Pratt-Wilson, community activist; Tina Vaughn, housing director for the Town of Chapel Hill; and Stephen Spade, transportation director for the Town of Chapel Hill.

###

Note: A high resolution photograph will be posted to the Newsroom web page at: http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.asp?NID=1210

- New Police Chief Selected, 3/6/07

I like that he is from North Carolina and that he has experience in management. I do wish he wasn't a white male, but I won't hold that against him personally. In honor of Chief McCarthy, I have created a new category on OP for "Public Health & Safety."

Fayetteville in the hiz-ouse!

Issues: 

Comments

From a May 14th, 2001 WRAL story:

Fayetteville has a new police chief. Some people are happy with the decision, while others are not.

NAACP Director Raymond Shipman says he is disappointed with city manager Roger Stancil's choice to hire Thomas McCarthy and not Michael Boykin, the second candidate under consideration. He says he hopes McCarthy will prove to serve all Fayetteville's citizens.

"Being inclusive in all of his dealings and making sure the persons under him are inclusive in their dealings with people or fair in their dealings with people," Shipman says.

Many residents would say that the community is divided, but businessman Mike Lallier is certain that it can come together and move forward. Lallier met with McCarthy as a member of a diversity assessment team.

"I think the proof will be in the pudding," he says. "In six months time, people will look back and say this was a tremendous hire or they won't, but I think if they give the Chief time to do his job, they'll be impressed with the outstanding person he really is."

Issues involving race are not new to the Police Department or Fayetteville. Ron McElrath, the city's human relations director, says what is important now is the effort to remove existing barriers through communication.

"I think there's going to be dialogue between community leaders and chief, and where there are still concerns, I think they'll be dealt with expeditiously," McElrath says.

He says McCarthy has a reputation in his current position in Gaston County as being very sensitive to the black community. Stancil says his experience of developing strong relationships with minority communities definitely played a part in his decision to hire McCarthy.

and a Feb. 8th, 2006 Fayetteville Observer article:

The NAACP said Tuesday that it will join law enforcement and county agencies for a public forum to talk about community relations issues after the deaths of two black men late last year.

The forum, to be held at Fayetteville State University on March 14, will be done in a question-and-answer format.

The issues raised in the forum will be discussed in a series of study circles, made up of people in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

The idea for the forum and study circles came after several recent incidents involving law enforcement, including the deaths of Jamale Davis and Calvin Wilson, according to Raymond Shipman. He is president of the Fayetteville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

On Nov. 3, Jamale Davis died of cocaine ingestion while in police custody. Calvin Wilson was shot to death by a Fayetteville police officer the same day. The officers involved in the incidents are white.

The State Bureau of Investigation has investigated the deaths. Neither case is closed.

The forum will allow people to ask those questions in a non-threatening environment, Shipman said. They also can ask about employment and health and education issues, Shipman said.

The local law enforcement agencies will be represented, as well as the city of Fayetteville, FSU, Fayetteville-Cumberland County Human Relations Commission, the NAACP and the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners.

Fayetteville police Chief Tom McCarthy said he plans to talk to people about what it means when an officer is undergoing an internal investigation and about how personnel laws work.

“As a team we can get far more done than as an individual,” McCarthy said.

After the forum, the questions will be presented to the study circles so they can be discussed and, if necessary, changes can be made.

The forum will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Shaw Auditorium at FSU. All are welcome, and anyone who doesn't get a chance to ask a question can go to the NAACP office on Murchison Road.

For more information, call the Human Relations Office at 433-1696 or the NAACP at 484-6166.

Interesting bookends. I didn't find any references to the resolution vis-a-vis the NAACP's concerns - maybe someone locally connected to that organization can fill us in.

A quick search of newspaper reports over the last few years seems to indicate a record of community service and outreach that will serve our community well.

Congrats to our new Police Chief, Brian Curran.

From our Manager:

To: Mayor and Town Council
From: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
CC: Senior Management Team

Date: September 24, 2007

Subject: Appointment of Brian Curran as Police Chief

I am proud to appoint Brian Curran as the Chief of Police of the Town of Chapel Hill. This appointment is effective immediately.

Former CHPD Chief Gregg Jarvies is sticking around Spring Lake a while longer:http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2009/09/02/930224You might recall that Jarvies was pulled out of retirement to lead the Spring Lake PD through an ethics crisis that allegedly implicated many in the SLPD, including their then-Chief (ie not Jarvies).

 

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