CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More positions of leadership are being filled by Charleston mayor-elect Amy Goodwin, this time with the Charleston Police Department.
Goodwin held a press conference Thursday at City Hall, naming Sgt. Opie Smith the department’s next Police Chief, Maj. Paul Perdue the next Deputy Chief of Police and Cpl. Jessi Redden as the new Major of Community Outreach and Development.
“It’s very humbling when you have people that you look up to and respect, that you have come through the ranks with, worked with and have worked for talk about you like that,” Smith said of the remarks about him during the press conference. “It is very humbling.”
Smith succeeds current Police Chief Steve Cooper, who is retiring from the department after 24 years to become the general manager for the Charleston Sanitary Board. Smith brings 20 years of experience with the department to Police Chief position.
Smith has received the Honor and Valor Award for acts of bravery and heroism on in July 2009 and was honored with the Jerry A. Jones Officer of the Year Award in 2014.
“I’ve interviewed many officers inside the city of Charleston and also outside this department and it became very clear,” Goodwin said. “I said it in the announcement and I meant it, he (Smith) was the first person on my list and he was the person at the end of the day who I selected.
“You’re talking about a person who has spent 20 years in the Charleston Police Department, somebody who is a K-9 specialist, somebody who was served on the SWAT team and someone who was recently the lead member of our hybrid patrol. You also can’t go to a neighborhood watch meeting in the city of Charleston and not run into Opie.”
Perdue will start the Deputy Chief of Police position as a 19-year veteran who began his career with the U.S. Army in 1992. He has served the department as a patrolman, a member of the SWAT team and as a sniper as well as currently supervising Charleston Hybrid Unit. Perdue currently leads the development of the city’s Neighborhood Watch programs as well.
Perdue said he and Smith have worked well together in the past.
“It’s always 110 percent and we always do the best that we can,” he said. “I think our roles will increase the number of officers under our command. We just want to continue on the business of being involved in our community and making sure that we hear what they say and we can respond to them in a way that gives them the best public safety available.”
Redden brings 11 years of experience in the department to her new role as Major of Community Outreach and Development, working as a patrol officer and leader of accident reconstruction. She received the Jerry A. Jones Officer of the Year Award in 2015.
“It’s surreal,” Redden said. “I was super excited and nervous. I think it is a great privilege and I hope to do a good job at it.”
“This will be about more outreach, getting to know people better, improve the relationship between the police department and the citizens of Charleston. Also within the department, try to get new recruits and the best people for the department.”
A release states Goodwin and Smith reestablished the position of Major to focus on community outreach and development.
Goodwin said the choice for this position was easy.
“If you want to see an up and coming star in the Charleston Police Department, you don’t have to look too far to see Jessi Redden right there,” Goodwin said. “We are talking about the future.”
“What we want in the city of Charleston is the philosophy that we have in all of our departments is not about one person or one director, certainly isn’t about a mayor, it’s about building the next generation of chief of police officers.”
As for the agenda of the incoming Police Chief and the department, Smith said there are a couple things he is ready to get to work on.
“We want to focus on public safety, that is big for us,” he said. “We want to try to get out and recruit diverse people. All over the country, the applicants are down but we want to get down and get after it. We want to get a more diverse applicant and get our numbers up.”
Goodwin will be sworn in as Charleston’s mayor on Monday along with Smith as Police Chief.