Story by Jennifer Shrader with Bee TV News
WEST POINT — Kevin Carter can take the “interim” off his business cards.
West Point City Council voted Monday night to name Carter, who has served as interim police chief for about six months, as the permanent chief of the department. Councilwoman DeeDee Williams was the lone “no” vote.
Carter said he never expected or necessarily planned to be chief. He’s been with the West Point police since 2011, and served with LaGrange police before that.
“I have shadowed two police chiefs now (as a captain),” he said. “Rather than see the department go through the changes and adjust again to a whole new person, we can have some consistency.”
The city didn’t advertise for the chief’s position after the last chief, Donald Britt, resigned in August. City Manager Ed Moon named Carter interim chief. Moon and several council members have been impressed with how Carter handled a GBI-led investigation that kicked off right before Britt’s resignation and led to the firing of three officers. Carter also has been at the helm of investigating several shootings in the city and helped lead community efforts during the Christmas freeze.
Moon had told council several weeks ago that barring any changes he planned to proceed with naming Carter as chief.
Williams, who voted no Monday, said she would support Carter in his new position but disagreed with the process used to name him to the job. She also noted that several members of the Allen Holloway family, who was shot and killed in West Point on Nov. 18, all spoke at the city’s last work session to complain about the investigation.
Carter said Monday night the investigation into the Holloway case is open and ongoing.
“My heart goes out to the family,” he said, noting that he’s talked with them several times since the shooting. Carter said the department has at least two leads and is still waiting for some of the evidence in the case to be processed.
“I was surprised to see them (at the council meeting),” he said. “That is a public forum and they have every right to be there.”
Carter plans to continue to make improvements to the department, something he’d already started as interim chief.
“I’ve already redone our hiring process so we can recruit and retain good officers,” he said.
Carter said he was happy to be named permanent chief.
“I will do everything I can to make West Point a better place to work,” he said.
