CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings announced his year-end retirement on Sunday. Now, the city manager will begin a national search to find Jennings’ replacement.
Five years ago, the city promoted the CMPD veteran from within. Now, city manager Marcus Jones has seven months to find a replacement before Jennings retires.
“As we begin the search for our next chief, we are committed to finding a leader who will continue to build upon Chief Jennings’ legacy and uphold our city’s commitment to safety and justice for all,” Jones said in a statement.
Gastonia resident Walter Kimble was previously a police chief in New Jersey. He told Channel 9’s Erika Jackson that the city should appoint a diverse selection committee and start with the search as soon as possible.
“The chief is the face of the agency, unquestionably,” he said. “And we want to look at someone who’s a well-rounded individual.”
He said it is important that Jennings’ replacement be familiar with Charlotte’s top issues and understand “social morals and values of the community.”
“There are pluses and minuses to a national search,” Kimble said. “Local folks, state-level folks know the flavor of the area, so to speak.”
Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP President Rev. Corine Mack said she has been working with Jennings since before he was CMPD’s top cop.
“He has been open to change,” she said. “He’s been open to Community Voices, which is so important, and I think that we were able to do some really good things for the community.”
Mack told Jackson she hopes that whoever is chosen as the new chief has everyone’s best interests in mind.
“They have to be open-minded,” she said. “They have to be fair, they have to have compassion, empathy, quite frankly, and they have to be able to communicate positively even when they don’t agree.”
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