Chief Michael Kelly announced a restructuring of the Columbia Police Department Friday that he says is designed to “move us into modern policing.”
Changes include breaking it into separate divisions, swearing in new officers and promoting several current officers to new roles.
Kelly said the intent is to have “21st century policing where we can have a manageable span on control, so our lower level officers have one person that they can answer to. This makes the flow and the operation of the department much easier to manage.”
The city promoted longtime detective Rita Pickering to assistant chief, which had not been occupied.
Kelly also divided the department into four divisions:
• Patrol Division, commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Davy Bass with several sergeants running the day-to-day operations of the shifts;
• Major Crimes Unit, formerly investigations, led by Lt. Cmdr. Jonathan Harrison. It will include crimes against special victims, felony crimes against persons, felony crimes against property and criminal intelligence. There will also be a new Vice Unit, in charge of narcotics, gambling and prostitution.
• Special Operations Division, headed by Lt. Cmdr. David Ezell, taking care of training, accreditation, the animal control facility, the municipal work program, communications and dispatch.
• School Safety Division, led by Lt. Cmdr. Pearlie Hendricks, which will now include the crossing guards rather than having them within patrol. Kelly said they also hope to bring on additional school resource officers so that there’s one at each of the four city schools.
Kelly said his command staff includes a wealth of experience.
“They have 94 years of combined experience,” he said. “That’s the folks who will be running the day-to-day operations of our police department. It’s absolutely incredible. It’s a good day in the city of Columbia when we can celebrate new people coming into work for the city of Columbia and the promotions.”
Mayor Justin McKenzie, a former CPD administrator himself, said it is “definitely a turn in the right direction.”
“We want to build up our department. We want to provide the best possible safety for our citizens,” he said. “We want them to go home and sleep in peace at night. We want our business owners to feel like they are safe and well protected.”
Officers sworn in by McKenzie included new Animal Control Officer Zach Parsons and patrol officers Justin Corley, Taner Breakfield and Joey Herrington.
Kelly spoke about the honor of promoting the division commanders and assistant chief to their ranks.
“This city is in good hands. I can’t express my gratitude enough for those officers who work each and every day to make this community what it is,” the chief said.
Pictured Above: Joey Herrington, Justin Corley and Taner Breakfield take the oath of office from Columbia Mayor Justin McKenzie Friday. The three will serve as patrol officers, helping to bolster the ranks of the Columbia Police Department. | Photo by Mark Rogers
