Greensboro has a new police chief.
Greensboro City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba announced on Thursday, Dec. 15 that Assistant Chief John Thompson will be the new Greensboro police chief.
Thompson will take over his duties as police chief on Friday, Dec. 16. The city conducted a nationwide search and, according to Assistant City Manager Trey Davis who spearheaded the search for a new chief, the list of applicants was impressive. The big question in hiring a new police chief is whether to go inside or outside the police department. One of the many advantages of hiring from within is that Thompson can be up and running as the new police chief with one day’s official notice.
Thompson has been with the Greensboro Police Department (GPD) since 2003, after starting his career in law enforcement in Asheboro in 1998.
Thompson will be replacing former Greensboro Police Chief Brian James, who announced his retirement from the GPD in April and retired on May 31. James didn’t stay retired long – he took over as chief of the UNC Chapel Hill police department on July 1.
Assistant Police Chief Teresa Biffle has been serving as interim police chief since James retired.
Davis in the press release said, “The community will appreciate how John applies people-centered approach to law enforcement. His leadership qualities align with many of the traits the community shared in public forums. Chief Thompson will serve the City with distinction, while positioning GPD as a national model in policing. The City is grateful to Interim Chief Teresa Biffle for her leadership in this transition period.”
Thompson said, “It is truly an honor to be selected to lead such a nationally accredited agency with an exceptional team of dedicated officers and employees. I am prioritizing challenges, such as violent crime and police community relations, while proposing unique approaches to recruitment and retention through innovation and inclusivity. The community will play a vital role in achieving public safety for all Greensboro residents.”
Thompson has served in numerous roles in the GPD including Planning and Research, Vice/Narcotics Division, Resource Management Division and is currently the commander of the Patrol Division.
He has a bachelor of science degree from Guilford College and an MBA from Pfeiffer University.
Thank you search committee. Hiring from within employs the optimal source. Good luck new chief!
An excellent choice for GPD. And because it is such a great choice, I can rest assured that the city manager probably had nothing to do with the selection. He has not made a smart move since he was hired and if you google his time in Charlotte, he was just as inept there as he has been here. Its like a football team fires their head coach because he had a losing record. Then they go hire a coach that was fired from another team the year before , with a worst record most times and pay him more then the previous coach. No common sense
Congrats to Chief Thompson , you will truly be an amazing leader as our police chief.
Chief: you gonna hire some more Indians?
Does this mean we can have some speed limits enforced within the city?
Not if T.B. Small has anything to do with it. Rules don’t apply to her.
Congratulations to the new Chief and good luck.
Nice surprise…did not expect this. Congratulations to Chief Thompson!
May God be with, and Bless our new Chief of Police!
It’s great to see the Chief selected from within the GPD. Certainly makes more sense than bringing someone in that knows nothing about the department. But why couldn’t this have been done, prior to spending tons of $$$ on a search firm!!!
Good luck to this guy, but isn’t it time we addressed The Retirement Scam that the public sector foists on us all? After just 3 decades we are supposed to believe that these individuals are so old or infirm that they must retire. Bollocks. How old was Chief James when he retired? The lie of The Retirement Scam is exposed by him immediately applying for – and being hired – at a different police department.
If I could retire at taxpayer expense, with permanent annual Cost Of Living increases and Cadillac health care, I would have jumped at the chance – at the age of 47. No-one in the Productive Sector gets a deal like that.
But in the Parasitic Sector it’s just business as usual. A taxpayer rip-off, as usual.
And they have the nerve to claim that the free market exemplifies greed…
Generally speaking, retirement is an accrued benefit. The city owes it to him regardless of what he does after taking retirement.
Dang AM, what is your occupation? Whatever it is, I hope you’re not stealing time from your employer because you appear to have an inordinate amount of time to post comments to most Rhino articles. It’s almost like you’re a running joke amongst the readership.
You do understand that each city employee is contributing to their own pension, right? The city/state forces them to contribute a certain percentage of their own salary to the state retirement system. It come out of every paycheck.
The state then invests that money to grow the fund over the 30 or so years the employee is working and contributing. On top of that city employees can voluntarily contribute to a 401K or similar mutual fund.
Yeah, the employees are paid with taxpayer money and the employee uses part of that money to fund the system, but it is not the big taxpayer scam that you are making it out to be. Plenty of private sector companies used to have pensions as a form of retention. A lot of them still do a 401k investment percentage match with the employee to help create a savings nest egg large enough to retire with. Retention through retirement in public and private sector is a big deal, as you are now seeing by the shortage of workers.
Go do 30 years in a police uniform in this environment. They earn that pension.
* I work for myself, so if I “steal time” from my employer (whatever that means), then I’m stealing from myself, no-one else.
* The “contribution” of city employees is a tiny fraction of the value of the pension, Officer Don, and exists as a fig leaf to whitewash the public.
* I couldn’t work one day as a law enforcement officer, DTF, not because of lack of fortitude, but because I am not the type to mindlessly follow orders. I also dislike bullying other people.
Anything else, gents?
I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. The NC retirement system is a Contribution Based Benefit Retirement System. In fact, there are rules in place to prevent an employee from getting a last minute raise or promotion to spike their retirement benefit in a way that would exceed their career long contributions. That rule is called a Contribution Bases Benefit Cap.
I’m pretty positive every employee has to donate 6% of every paycheck and that their retirement is funded exclusively out of investments made off of that 6% over the course of their career.
I suspect you are just speculating, but I admit I am no expert. So please enlighten us. Don’t speculate or toss out opinions. Tell us specific numbers based on facts. What percentage of the police officer pension is paid for out of the officer’s salary versus given to them for “free” by the taxpayer?
“pretty positive” is not a fact.
Neither are Austin’s speculative accusations.
The 6% thing is a fact. I just don’t know for sure if it makes up the entirety of the fund. I imagine it does though since every employee has to contribute out of every check. Those contributions get invested for decades. Not all employees make it to retirement. They can get their contributions back,. But the state keeps the invested interest.
Yes Mr. Morris, you should thank the GPD for their service, the few that remain. Chief Thompson has his work cut out for him to get new people to work at GPD. He will soon find out that those above him and the city council will not do anything to facilitate a true recruiting and retention initiative.
Most police do not “mindlessly follow orders.” GPD officers ride single on patrol and answer most calls by themselves. Other than the constitution, NC law, and agency directives there are not many “orders” given. Since you think they all “bully” people then you must agree that officers should follow those three types of law. Don’t call 911 if you are a victim since all officers are bullies.
May the good Lord bless and keep this young man and give him the courage, strength and wisdom to carry out the duties of this position in a positive fashion. God speed Chief John Thompson.
Best of luck to you sir, just don’t have any black books around.
Did a couple of my replies get lost in the shuffle, John?
Our site crashed and we lost some comments, but you’re welcome to resend them.
Okay, thanks for telling us. I think I’ll just let it go now this story’s slipping away.
Keep up the good work – and Happy Christmas!