CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The St. Albans native tasked with taking over the Charleston Police Department is ready to take this step.
46-year-old Jason Webb, who has been Deputy Police Chief since February 2024, learned last week that he will be elevated to the role of police chief on October 22. He replaces outgoing Chief Scott Dempsey, who will be retiring after 26 years within the Charleston Police Department.
A 21-year veteran on the police force, Webb applied for the open chief’s position in 2024. While it ultimately went to Dempsey, Webb said that application let the city administration, Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin, and Dempsey know that he was interested.
According to Webb, his wife tells him that “it’s the next logical step in your law enforcement career.”
Webb told MetroNews that it’s a surreal feeling.
“I’m excited, I’m flabbergasted, is probably a good word,” Webb said. “Moving from being here, mentoring under Chief Dempsey, and the mayor’s shown enough faith in me to help me along with my career, and give me the position where I could shadow under him, and then, as soon as the opportunity came up, she made me chief and I couldn’t be happier.”
Webb’s experience speaks for itself. He’s worn just about every hat that someone can wear within the Charleston Police Department.
“I’ve worked in every division from CID, to public services, to SWAT commander, to a sniper at one point, to running the Metro Drug Unit and being able to take part in one of the largest drug busts in the state of West Virginia, to now trying to do the administrative side of police work,” Webb said. “I’m excited; I’m ecstatic.”
The only division within the department that Webb hasn’t dabbled in is the Professional Standards Division, which ensures officers are in compliance with rules. While that may be the case, Webb said, he’s gotten a good taste of that side as deputy chief, dealing with disciplinary problems as they present themselves.
All told, he said, he’s become a well-rounded member of the Charleston police force.
“Having been able to work at almost every division, having been around all these police officers that are still with us, thankfully, over the 21 years, I’ve just built a good base up for what policing is in Charleston,” Webb said.
Recruiting is always at the forefront of the department’s attention, Webb noted. Shaping a “well-trained” officer, he said, takes about a year, and thus the department is “always playing catchup.” Last month, Charleston police saw four officers retire. Additionally, he said that officers leave for federal agencies, the West Virginia State Police, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, and others, depending on their interests.
Webb said that keeping the department’s numbers in good standing will be a focus.
“We have one of the largest recruiting classes in the academy that we’ve ever had there now,” Webb said. “We’ve got four officers in the field training program. We’ve got several on the list to go to the new academy class. We’re just constantly (moving) along. It’s still going to be a struggle, but it’s something that we look forward to figuring out and doing better with.”
His jack-of-all-trades career may mean he’s not “the best at everything,” Webb said, but he’s certainly experienced at lots of different things. He said that he won’t be afraid to delegate depending on the specific interests and talents of his officers. That’s the great thing about police, he said, there are many different areas that officers can get into to play to their strengths.
“I’m really good at spotting talent, and I don’t have much in the way of pride,” Webb said. “If I know that I’m not the best at it, but I know what the best looks like, I’m going to plug in that person into that hole. I always say, ’round peg, round hole.’ You want a round peg in a round hole; you don’t want to force somebody into something that they’re just not built for.”
Webb will become Charleston’s third police chief in four years, succeeding Dempsey and former chief Tyke Hunt.