‘It is time’: CMPD chief announces he will retire on July 1

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The chief of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department announced Monday that he will be retiring on July 1.

Chief Kerr Putney was originally supposed to retire in August following the Republican National Convention, but now that the main event is no longer taking place in the Queen City, he said “It is time.”

Putney who was sworn in as Charlotte’s chief of police in 2015, has worked with the department for almost 30 years.

He urged the department to continue its work with young people in the community and said that he is humbled to have served the city of Charlotte.

“I appreciate the fact that this is the best city that I could have ever chosen to make my home and to work for in this police service,” Putney said. “I hope I served you well.”

Putney said there is still work to be done in regards to violent crime and the city must work together to create lasting change.

When asked if the timing of his retirement was in connection with a “mass casualty” incident at a block party in north Charlotte the day before, the chief said that the announcement was planned and had been in the works for some time.

The chief said although he is moving on from law enforcement, he plans to do consulting work and his voice will still be heard around the city.

“This is not goodbye, this is just finishing one phase and going into the next. And I may be even more vocal in the next,” Putney said.

Deputy Chief Johnny Jennings will takeover the role as CMPD’s chief. He has been with the department since 1992 and was promoted to Deputy Chief in 2016.

Jennings will be sworn in on the same day as Putney’s retirement.

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