High Point City Manager Tasha Logan Ford announced on Tuesday, Nov. 21 that High Point Police Department Major Curtis Cheeks III has been appointed as the city’s interim chief of police – effective on the first day of December.
Logan Ford had some very positive things to say about the selection of Curtis to, at least temporarily, fill the top law enforcement job in the city.
“Major Cheeks has spent 21 years with the High Point Police Department, has a high level of professional knowledge within law enforcement and has demonstrated a willingness to serve as interim chief of police during this time,” the manager stated in a Tuesday press release announcing the move.
Cheeks – who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke as well as a master’s degree from Florida Metropolitan University – attended the 144th session of the Southern Police Institute’s Administrative Officers Course and is an FBI LEEDA Trilogy recipient.
Currently, Cheeks is the assistant chief of the Support Services Division of the department. That’s the division that oversees “training officers, recruiting officers, emergency management functions, human resource functions, Real Time Crime Center staff, records/IT section and equipment personnel. ”
Cheeks said in the November 21 statement released by the city that he’s excited about this opportunity.
“I’m honored to have the privilege of leading our department,” he stated. “The High Point Police Department’s employees embrace the challenge of maintaining a high standard of professionalism while we serve all community members and visitors.”
Prior to his current assignment, Cheeks served the force as the commander of the Investigations Section in the Major Crimes Unit, lieutenant over the Strategic Intelligence Unit, Community Engagement Unit and Public Information Office – and as a field training supervisor.
He’s gained a wide variety of law enforcement experience – as a recruiting officer, a field training officer and a vice/narcotics detective.
He’s also been involved during his law enforcement career as a state-certified criminal justice instructor – as well as in the department’s “implementation and continued efforts of focused deterrence in the areas of open-air drug markets, domestic violence and violence related to gun crime.”
High Point’s national search for a police chief generated over 50 applicants, and city leaders say that “significant progress” has been made in assessing those candidates.
The press release states that the city manager will use the next few months to work through the remaining phases of the process, “ensuring that the police department continues to evolve and become the best agency it can be to serve the High Point community.”
Cheeks, who’s originally from Winston-Salem, and his wife Ashley, have one son, Dominic.
