The new Greensboro Police Chief John Thompson was officially sworn into office at a ceremony at the Carolina Theatre on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
The announcement that Thompson would be the next chief of the Greensboro Police Department was made on Thursday, Dec. 15, and Thompson took over as police chief on Friday, Dec. 16.
After less than a month as police chief, it is too far too early to compare Thompson’s record to that of prior chiefs of police. However, after the swearing in ceremony it is apparent that Thompson is the most humorous police chief Greensboro has had in decades, if not ever.
After being officially sworn in, Thompson thanked everyone and talked about the “challenging, lengthy and at times stressful” hiring process.
Then he said that during the hiring process, “There were really a lot of sacrifices on my part, one of those sacrifices I haven’t discussed with my wife yet, not sure this is the right opportunity, but ‘Honey, we’re going to have to have another child.’ I promised the city manager that if he offered me the job that we would name our next child after him. The good news with that is that I think Taiwo Thompson is actually kind of catchy.”
For readers who are humor challenged, that was a joke and certainly those in the audience understood it was a joke, because Thompson had to pause for the crowd to quiet down before he could continue.
Both City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba and Assistant City Manager Trey Davis described Thompson as someone who thought outside the box and Thompson’s first speech as chief certainly provided evidence that at least as far as public speaking is concerned that is true.
That was certainly not the only humor in Thompson’s speech, but probably got the biggest laugh.
On a more serious note, Thompson talked about the four tenets that governed his life: compassion, service, hard work and humility.
Thompson said that he had never gone into any room thinking he was the smartest person in the room, the most creative or the most attractive. But he added, “I’ve always gone into any room feeling like I could outwork anybody in that room.”
You could say that he has his work cut out for him in his new job.
Good luck sir and God speed
I wish this young man the best of luck and God Speed. I pray the good Lord will lead, guide and direct Chief Thompson in all his endeavors during his tenure as chief.
The position of Chief of Police never lasts long in Greensboro so let’s support this man and actually allow him to do his job without interference from everyone. Nobody likes to be micromanaged.
Best of Luck Chief! You will need it working with the current city council !
It would be admirable if the new Chief would investigate a crime that was never investigated. According to a reliable source, the police were told at the time not to investigate the destruction of the Confederate memorial in Green Hill Cemetery in July 2020. This memorial marks the graves of 300 Confederate soldiers. This was not a monument to the Confederacy but a memorial to men who believed in the 10th amendment that gave all States the right to secede. Whether this premise is agreed upon does not matter. The fact is it is a premise that cannot be ignored.
According to a nearby resident, machinery of some sort was brought into the cemetery to destroy the memorial figure. If correct, this was no small task. Since the memorial has fencing surrounding it, it makes sense that machinery was used. The questions remain about who knew about the crime in advance, who was involved in the planning, who committed the crime and who among us would find pleasure in the desiccation of a gravesite? Police should not be allowed to pick and choose what crimes to investigate, and which ones to ignore. An interesting question would be who directed the police to ignore the crime. This was not a spontaneous act, but a planned and violent act committed by violent people living among us. Scary thought.
Glad he can be humorous when GPD cannot recruit, has over 100 vacancies, is not competitive with neighboring agencies, and on and on and on.
Still waiting for information regarding the Confederate Memorial desecration. Think it would be a good idea to interview council members?