Raleigh announces finalists for police chief

The candidates for top cop include interim chief Cassandra Deck-Brown; Bryan Norwood, chief of police in Richmond, Va.; and Malik Aziz, deputy chief of police in Dallas.

Aziz, 44, was recently a finalist in the search for a new Fayetteville police chief. Aziz, who would have been Fayetteville’s first black police chief, lost the post Wednesday to Harold Medlock, deputy police chief for Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

The three finalists were winnowed from about 50 applicants who responded to a nationwide search to replace former Chief Harry Dolan, who retired Oct. 1 after a 32-year career in law enforcement. Deck-Brown, 49, has been serving as interim chief since his departure.

Aziz has served with the Dallas Police Department since 1992. He holds an MBA from the University of Dallas.

Norwood, 46, graduated from Hampton University and began his law enforcement career in Connecticut, where he became police chief in Bridgeport. He was hired in 2008 as chief in Richmond, where he manages 760 sworn officers, 170 civilian employees and an annual budget of more than $79 million. 

The Raleigh Police Department has 777 sworn officers and a budget of $88.4 million for the current fiscal year.

City Manager Russell Allen invited residents to attend a public forum with the finalists on Jan. 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the council chamber of the Avery C. Upchurch Government Complex, 222 W. Hargett St.

Residents will not be allowed to ask questions of the finalists during the forum, but they will be given a form to rank their preference and offer written comments. Residents can meet the finalists during a post-forum reception in the lobby.

The public forum will be shown on cable channel 11.

Allen said he hopes to announce the winner shortly after a final evaluation, which will include reviewing the feedback forms from residents.

The chosen candidate will become Raleigh's second African-American police chief, officials said. Former chief Mitch Brown, the city's first and only African-American chief, retired in 2000.