Fayetteville names two police chief finalists

Fayetteville, N.C. — Deputy police chiefs in Charlotte and Dallas, Texas, are the two finalists to lead the Fayetteville Police Department, officials said Tuesday.

Harold Medlock has headed one of two Field Services Groups in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department since 2008. During his career, he has served as the commander of the Training Academy, been a SWAT team negotiator and a Civil Emergency Unit commander and overseen such specialized units as Transit Policing, Special Events and Secondary Employment.

Medlock is a graduate of Pfeiffer University, where he earned a degree in criminal justice and an MBA, as well as the FBI National Academy and the Senior Management Institute for Police. He is a member of the executive boards of the North Carolina Police Executives Association and the Carolinas Institute for Community Policing.

Malik Aziz has headed the Field Services Division for the Dallas Police Department since 2008. The division handles SWAT operations, searches for fugitives and parole violators, security and traffic control at the Love Field airport and security planning for events such as the Texas State Fair and Cotton Bowl.

Aziz joined the department in 1992. He is finishing up a two-year term as chairman of the National Black Police Association.

Both men said Tuesday that they are committed to getting the public involved in fighting crime.

"It's a great opportunity for me to learn and to grow and to give some of the things back that I've learned over my 21 years in law enforcement and give them to Fayetteville," Aziz said. "Hopefully, it will be a reciprocal agreement, where I learn a lot of things here."

"(I will be) interacting with different neighborhood groups and concerned citizens, so this is an opportunity for folks to get to know me," Medlock said. "I really want folks to feel comfortable with either one of the candidates to make sure we're the right fit for the city."

City Manager Ted Voorhees said he hopes to name the new police chief in the next few weeks. Former Chief Tom Bergamine retired last summer.

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What is “good policing?” What should you look for in a police leader? How is your city going to evaluate that leader? Perhaps one or more of the four major obstacles arresting police development is in existence? For more, follow my blog at http://improvingpolice.wordpress.com. Those police officers who serve in a democracy are men and women who are highly-educated, well-trained, controlled in their use of force, honest, courteous to every person, and led by mature leaders. Is that your police? If not, find out what you can do about it.

davidccouper
December 20, 2012 3:26 p.m.

Why do they feel the ned to bring in someone from out of town. What about the fill in chief who has been doing the job for months already? Is it maybe that she is a white female?

kermit60
December 19, 2012 10:58 a.m.

Aziz should not have made it to the finals soley due to his membership in a racially exclusive organization. Fayetteville is segregated enough without mess like this.