May 5 Town of Cary statement on Brad Cooper conviction

“As Cary’s Town Manager, one of my most important responsibilities is to ensure that our organization hires and retains the very best people to serve our community. It’s what our citizens expect, and it’s what they deserve. This includes the Chief of Police and, ultimately, the officers and staff who support her.

With today’s verdict and despite the very public and hurtful allegations to the contrary, it’s clear that they are exemplary, and Cary is served by the best.

Throughout this tragic incident – from the moment Nancy Cooper was reported missing all the way through to the jury’s verdict – Chief Bazemore and her team have brought every resource to bear on appropriately solving the case. They worked tirelessly, professionally, and with unimpeachable integrity – just as they’ve done throughout my 17 years with the Town of Cary.

Based on their extraordinary and exhaustive efforts, several years ago the Grand Jury indicted Brad Cooper for Nancy Cooper’s murder. Since then, the District Attorney’s Office produced a powerful and compelling case for Mr. Cooper’s conviction.

Since 1986 when now Chief Bazemore joined the Cary Police Department as a patrol officer, our community has seen 19 murders. And with every one that has been brought to trial, the suspect has been convicted. Clearly, our police department has the knowledge, skills, abilities, and resources to solve complex crimes. And many if not most of our police who worked on these cases also worked on the Cooper case as well as the other two murder cases of 2008.

“Today’s verdict brings a terrible chapter in our community to a close. Nancy’s family and friends as well as our citizens at large can move ahead with confidence that justice has been served.

As I did with the announcement of Brad Cooper’s arrest several years ago, I want to use the opportunity of his conviction to again encourage every person who’s in a challenging relationship to take the steps necessary to keep yourselves safe.

Please remember that Nancy Cooper said to many that she didn’t think Brad would ever physically hurt her. Nancy was wrong, and the consequences were dire. Learn from her legacy, and get help now.

I want to thank the men and women of the Cary Police Department and our colleagues throughout Town government who joined us in our professional and tireless effort with this case. Throughout, they strived to be accurate, thorough, and complete. This has taken time, dedication, patience, and restraint. I’m very proud of our work together.

I want to specifically recognize three of our detectives: Lead Detective George Daniels, Detective Jim Young, and Detective Adam Dismukes. These detectives worked night and day to gather the evidence necessary to make an arrest in this case and due to their efforts, we have been able to bring justice to Nancy’s family.

I also want to thank the jurors, the Wake County District Attorney’s Office, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office, the City County Bureau of Identification, the State Medical Examiner’s Office, the State Bureau of Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations for the roles they played in bringing this phase of our community’s tragedy to a close.