CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The capital city has a new chief of police, but the department’s new leader is no stranger to the force.
Jason Webb was sworn in Wednesday as chief of the Charleston Police Department after spending 21 years with the department, working his way up through the ranks.
Webb said he began his career as a beat officer before advancing to leadership positions. He initially applied for the chief’s position, which ultimately went to Scott Dempsey. Although he was not selected, Webb continued his work with the department and eventually became deputy chief.
“This was never expected,” Webb said. “If you were to ask the people when I first started this job if they thought I’d be chief of police one day, I would have told you no. They would have told you no. But as my wife likes to point out, this is the next logical step in my law enforcement career, and it’s going to give me several opportunities to grow and learn.”
The swearing-in ceremony was bittersweet for Webb, who became emotional at times as he spoke about wishing his father could have been there to witness the occasion. The City Council chambers were nearly filled to capacity with friends and family attending the ceremony.
Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said she has worked closely with Webb on a daily basis since taking office and has complete confidence in his leadership.
When asked about his plans as chief, Webb said he believes Dempsey left the department in a strong position.
“Unfortunately for me, he did a really good job of leading the department forward, so there is nothing really broken, nothing to fix,” Webb said.
Webb said he hopes to bring more technology to the department and keep the force on the cutting edge of law enforcement technology. However, he emphasized that officers are the ones who do the heavy lifting and said he intends to support them in any way possible.
“If they can look back on a 20-year career and be like, ‘That was the best part of my life,’ and remember it when they are an old man in a rocking chair or an old woman in a kitchen, if they can remember those things and be proud of their service here, then we’ve done a good job,” Webb said.
Asked what message he would like to share with the Charleston community as he takes the helm, Webb emphasized the importance of open communication between the department and residents.
“I look forward to honest and open communication with the community,” Webb said. “I feel like a lot of times that’s lacking. A lot of times, people expect open and honest communication from us. I would ask for the same thing from the community and a chance to sit down and talk to them and maybe look at it from both sides of the table, and both points of view. I just look forward to working with everybody.”