PHOTO | CITY OF CHARLOTTE

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Deputy Chief Johnny Jennings will take over as chief upon retirement of Kerr Putney in August.

Johnny Jennings is the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department chief.

City Manager Marcus Jones announced Jennings’ promotion from deputy Chief today during a press conference. Jennings steps into the job in September when he replaces Chief Kerr Putney, who has been in the position since 2015. Putney will retire after the Republican National Convention in Charlotte Aug. 24-27.

“If you were to tell me five years ago that I would be standing here, not announcing my retirement, but being introduced as the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police chief, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Jennings said. “When City Manager Marcus Jones asked me ‘what do you want to be known as when you leave Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department?’ without hesitation [the response was] ‘I want to be known as the best police chief this department has ever seen,’ no offense to Chief Putney. I paused, and I said ‘with the leadership this agency has had over the years has been phenomenal from Darrell Stevens, Rodney Monroe and now Kerr Putney, if my goal is not to the best, if my goal is not to exceed that, then I shouldn’t even be here in front of you today.’”

Said Putney: “We stand on the shoulders of a lot of good people who have gone before us, and we just grew today…I gave [Jennings] advice and that is pretty simple: Stay true to your faith and support your family. Anything else will take care of itself.”

Jennings, who joined CMPD in 1992, oversees the Support Services group, which includes the Community Services Bureau. Charlotte has hosted several big events, including the 2012 Democratic National Convention, 2019 NBA All-Star Game, and CIAA basketball tournament during his time with the department. He has also served in multiple leadership roles, including officer for Administrative Services, Special Services, Support Services and Field Services. He was a major over Intelligence, Investigations, Special Operations, and the Office of Professional Responsibility.

Jennings worked his way through CMPD, starting in the patrol division then as a homicide detective. He has served as Deputy Chief since 2016. Jennings also established and implemented the department’s paid college internship program designed to increase recruitment and retention.

“He is a man who cares deeply for the men and women who serve, and just as importantly, maybe more importantly, he cares deeply about our community,” Jones said. “My decision to promote Deputy Chief Jennings is not just a reflection on him, but also on CMPD. What I’ve known for many years, but was reinforced with this process, is CMPD is the finest police department in the country. As leaders they have a reputation for being positive and innovative. Chief Jennings is a part of creating that reputation and legacy.”

Said Mayor Vi Lyles: “Charlotte has had a long line of great police chiefs throughout our history, and we’re adding today another wonderful chief. I would like to say thank you to Chief Kerr Putney. I think you [and Jennings] both came in in 1992. When you look around and see the kind of caliber of people who come to work for our department, we know that the choice of an internal hire is the best thing to continue our legacy.”

A national search for Putney’s replacement was conducted, which narrowed the candidates from 60 applicants.

“Even though we struck gold with Chief Putney, we thought it was very important that we cast a wide net,” Jones said. “We had a national recruiter who did surveys of the community, small focus groups and a survey of the police department. We got a feel of the type of police chief who would work well in the community.”

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