A message from Interim City Manager Cathy Ball:
The purpose of this communication is to share news that Asheville Police Chief Tammy Hooper has given notice of her resignation, with an effective date of Jan. 2, 2019, to pursue consulting opportunities.
Chief Hooper previously gave notice of her resignation to the former city manager in February of 2018 with the intent to transition into consulting at that time. However, with the former city manager’s dismissal, Chief Hooper recognized the need to provide strong leadership to the police department during a critical time. As such, she committed to continue leading the police department until a new city manager was hired. The City is grateful for the contributions Chief Hooper has made to the police department.
Many important initiatives were implemented under her leadership such as:
- The development and revision of more than two-thirds of the department’s policies and procedures;
- The new use of force policy which was crafted with community input;
- De-escalation training for all officers;
- Implementation of a body worn camera program;
- CALEA re-accreditation;
- Complete purge of and inventory of the property and evidence section; and
- Implementation of numerous community partnership strategies
Chief Hooper will meet with the new city manager, Debra Campbell, during December to allow for a smooth transition of leadership in the police department. She has also agreed to provide 75 consulting hours following her last day of employment to assist with the transition.
I have appointed Deputy Chief Wade Wood to act as the Interim Chief of Police following Chief Hooper’s last day. The details of the national search for Asheville’s next chief of police will be announced in the near future. The search will include input from the community, employees and the City’s leadership team.