Before Potter’s arrival, HPD had a deputy chief position, which had long been vacant, and following months of evaluation Potter last week announced the promotion of Capt. Michael Kee to the department’s second highest rank, along with three other promotions.
“I felt the department needed to reinstitute the deputy chief position and have a formal second in-command who could help strategically and help focus the entire police department on continued improvement of service to the citizens,” says Potter.
Kee joined HPD in 1998 as a detective sergeant in charge of the Criminal Investigations Division. Two years later, he was promoted to the rank of detective lieutenant. He also started and led HPD’s first Crisis Negotiations Unit and developed, implemented, and commanded the HPD Honor Guard beginning in 2001. He also implemented HPD’s Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) Training Program.
As HPD quickly grew, Kee was promoted to captain in 2001, where he led the Services Bureau until April 2011. He was reassigned as patrol bureau commander following Pennington’s retirement. In all, Kee has more than 19 years experience as a sworn law enforcement officer.
Kee graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., in 2002, and holds both intermediate and advanced Law Enforcement Certificates from the North Carolina Criminal Justice Training and Standards Commission. He is a certified Criminal Justice Instructor in North Carolina and holds his advanced Criminal Investigations Certificate through the North Carolina Justice Academy. He graduated from The Citadel in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in history.
Potter also announced the promotion of Lt. Ken Richardson to captain for the Field Services Bureau; Lt. Barry Graham to captain of the Support Services Bureau; and Sgt. Bryan Latza to the rank of lieutenant. Those promotions become effective Oct. 17. The promotions of Richardson and Graham helped facilitate a reorganization of command structure, according to Potter.
“We made some changes in putting all first responders under the same captain, so now we have patrol, traffic safety and animal safety under Richardson in the Field Services Bureau, and our Support Services under Graham are the crime prevention, school resource, training, recruiting and internal affairs functions. ... Before, it was a little clumsy with two captains in two different bureaus trying to address common issues. This will align the organization in accordance with our needs and objectives.”
Potter says the evaluation process for all the promotions began in April. The goal was to promote from within, but only if the internal and external personnel assessments warranted going that direction. The officers were placed in temporary roles of additional responsibility, and the process incorporated command officers from outside the department to help evaluate the candidates’ leadership credentials.
“One of the advantages is that you have some long-term employees who are dedicated to the department and the community in leadership positions,” says Potter. “Our two new captains are Huntersville residents, and when you bring in somebody from outside, among the disadvantages is a long learning curve of the community and adapting to the working environment. We won’t have those issues with the promotions we made.”
Potter adds the promotions will not result in any changes to the department’s personnel budget.
“I had to put together a plan that would not cost the town any more money,” Potter says. “Previously, we had two captains and seven lieutenants, and with the realignment we now have a deputy chief, two captains and six lieutenants, so that’s one fewer lieutenant to accommodate the changes in the organizational structure without requiring any additional personnel funds.”
Richardson joined HPD in September 1998 as a detective, and was promoted to detective sergeant in October 2001. He was promoted to division commander (lieutenant) of the Criminal Investigations Division in July 2004. He began his law enforcement career in 1994 with the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office and also served with the Davidson Police Department. He has more than 17 years of experience as a sworn law enforcement officer. In February 2009, Richardson was awarded HPD’s Supervisor of the Year award.
Graham joined HPD in 1997 and shortly after was assigned as the department’s first school resource officer. In 2001, he was transferred to the Criminal Investigations Division and worked as a detective for three years until he was promoted to the rank of sergeant over the Services Division. In 2004, he was reassigned as lieutenant. He began his law enforcement career with the Biltmore Forest Police Department in 1994 and has more than 17 years of experience as a sworn law enforcement officer.
Latza began his law enforcement career in 1998 with the Amsterdam Police Department in Amsterdam, N.Y., where he worked prior to joining HPD in December 2000. In 2009, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. He has served as a member of the Training Advisory Committee, as a Police Training Officer, SWAT Team leader and, most recently the department’s recruitment officer.
A promotions ceremony will be held at the HPD headquarters on Monday, Oct. 17, at 4 p.m.
