Salisbury Police chief retiring at end of 2022

SALISBURY, N.C. — After a career spanning nearly four decades, Salisbury Police Chief Jerry Stokes is eyeing retirement after the end of this year.

Stokes joined the Salisbury Police Department in 2016 after spending 32 years with the Lynchburg Police Department in Virginia, now his last day with SPD is set for Dec. 31.

According to a news release sent on Tuesday, Stokes is being credited for programs that “assisted in the city’s 20-year low in violent crime in 2019 and 2020.” That included submitting SPD into a federal gun crime reduction program; enhancing “SPD’s training program in areas such as de-escalation, fair and bias-free policing, cultural awareness, basic police officer skills, and leadership development;” and building relationships within the community.

“After more than six years as the chief of the Salisbury Police Department, I can truly say that my time here has been the pinnacle of a long career and the most satisfying time in my service as a police officer,” Stokes said in a statement on Tuesday. “I have found the officers who serve the Salisbury Police Department to be the most professional and dedicated group I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I will miss their comradery and friendship. I am certain they have the strength to continue providing Salisbury honorable service and feel the future for Salisbury Police Department is a bright one.”

The city says Deputy Chief Brian Stallings will take over as interim police chief starting on Jan. 1, and a “comprehensive search for a new permanent police chief” is set to start in early 2023.

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