McCrory names acting SBI director

B.W. Collier II will be sworn in on Monday, succeeding Greg McLeod, who has headed the SBI for four years.

Collier, who has headed the state Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement for the past year, previously spent 26 years with the SBI, working as a drug investigator, arson and crime scene agent, canine handler, technical agent, bomb squad commander and director of the unit that deals with criminal information and intelligence gathering, according to McCrory's office.

"B.W. Collier’s distinguished law enforcement background and leadership skills make him the ideal candidate to lead this elite agency,” McCrory said in a statement. "Collier’s 26 years as a SBI agent, coupled with his experience at Alcohol Law Enforcement, give me complete confidence in his abilities to carry out the SBI’s mission.”

A provision in the state budget shifted the SBI from the Department of Justice, which is headed by Attorney General Roy Cooper, to the Department of Public Safety, which is a cabinet agency in McCrory's administration. Along with that move, lawmakers established a new system for naming the SBI director, requiring legislative approval of a gubernatorial nominee, who would then serve an eight-year term.

McLeod isn't moving to a new position at the SBI, the Department of Public Safety or the Department of Justice, officials said.

He assumed command of the SBI following an outside investigation that determined analysts in the State Crime Lab had omitted, overstated or falsely reported blood evidence in scores of criminal cases between 1987 and 2003, including three that ended in executions. He changed policies and procedures at the crime lab, which has since passed outside audits and been accredited.