Greensboro's New Police Chief Sworn In
Wednesday, September 01 2010
by Jessica Jones
Jeremy Loeb: Greensboro's new police chief was sworn in earlier today in a ceremony at the city's coliseum complex. 46-year-old Ken Miller comes from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department, where he rose through the ranks to become deputy chief. He beat out 200 other applicants for the position in Greensboro. But he has a challenging job before him. Jessica Jones reports.
Jessica Jones: A conference room full of uniformed officers and city employees watched today as Ken Miller officially became Greensboro's new chief of police.
Clerk and Ken Miller: Please place your left hand on the Bible, raise your right hand, and repeat after me. I, state your name/ I Kenneth Miller/ do solemnly swear/do solemnly swear…
Afterwards, Miller gave a short speech from a podium at the front of the room.
Miller: Through the oath that I have sworn before you, it's important that I note that I intend to serve everyone in this community, and everyone within the Greensboro Police Department, to make Greensboro safer, to enhance community trust in the GPD, and to improve esprit de corps within the organization.
And that's something the department desperately needs. 39 minority officers are suing the city, saying a past chief discriminated against them. A veteran captain who's part of that lawsuit was fired earlier this week. He says he was targeted because he helped other officers file grievances. In an interview after the swearing in, Miller said he'll work hard to invigorate the department.
Miller: To some degree, I think the folks in the department need a fresh perspective, need to understand the role of leadership, they have to be encouraged, they have to have a voice in what happens and how things get done, that helps promote an engaged workforce.
But Miller says that doesn't mean racial tensions will just melt away- he says it'll take a lot of hard work and dialogue within the department. Before he was even sworn in, Miller sent questionnaires to officers asking what issues they think need to be addressed. And diversity was one of the issues officers listed. Miller's early leg work is in keeping with his reputation as a deputy chief in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg department.
Cleve Wootson: He's a really intelligent guy. A lot of the conversations we've had over the last couple of years end up going into a wellspring of topics, all involving policing.
Cleve Wootson covers the police beat for the Charlotte Observer.
Wootson: He has always been well versed in what's going on, with a leaning towards the numbers, with a leaning towards what the data shows and what's going on out there.
Wootson says Charlotte's police department has focused on troubled neighborhoods and even individual criminals in recent years. And he says Miller was good at explaining the department's choices. Many people who came to watch Miller's swearing-in today say they hope his appointment is a new chapter for Greensboro. Harlon Costner is a retired U-S Marshal. He thinks high turnover among police chiefs and city officials has been a factor that led to a bad atmosphere in the police department.
Costner: The term pushing the envelope comes to mind, and I think that the envelope was certainly pushed, and I am happy for this day. I am looking forward to the future because I want to see this department regain the professional reputation that it once had.
So does Chief Ken Miller. He says one of his goals is to work on better relations with the media- so the people of Greensboro get to hear more about the good things the department does. Jessica Jones, North Carolina Public Radio WUNC.
