THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 7, 1996 TAG: 9608070408
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: 48 lines
A former state trooper with 22 years as a law enforcement officer has been chosen as the new chief of police in Kill Devil Hills.
Raymond L. Davis, training officer for the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department, succeeds James H. Gradeless as chief. Gradeless retired last spring after 18 years with the department.
Davis, 43, will report Aug. 26. Davis, selected from a field of 30 applicants, will be paid $41,630 annually.
Building a community policing program will be Davis' top priority as chief.
``That's exactly where we're heading,'' Davis said. ``We want to get our officers out in the community getting to know people in the neighborhoods. We want to get the program where it should be.''
A Fayetteville native, Davis spent two years in the Marine Corps before joining the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
``I couldn't wait until I turned 21 to join the Highway Patrol,'' Davis said. ``I wanted to be a police officer for as long as I can remember.''
Davis left the Highway Patrol in 1981 to join the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department. The move from the Fayetteville area to the Outer Banks, Davis admitted, will be an adjustment.
``Here in the Fayetteville area, we have everything you can imagine,'' Davis said. ``I'm going to have a lot to learn as far as crime statistics and what the problems are in Kill Devil Hills. I'm going to have to jump in with both feet.''
Davis said training also will be a priority.
``I've been a training officer for years and years,'' Davis said. ``We want to make sure our officers are trained as well as they possibly can.''
Davis and his wife, Suzette, have three grown children. His wife's parents, Annie Rose and Albert Wells, live in Kill Devil Hills.
``We've always loved the coast,'' Davis said. ``I heard about Chief Gradeless's retirement, and thought it would be a good opportunity to move somewhere better.''
Davis enjoys sailing and fishing. He is a member of the Masons, and is a certified law enforcement instructor in diving and firearms skills.
Town Manager Debora Diaz said a six-person assessment team was impressed with Davis.
``The committee felt like he was the best candidate,'' Diaz said. ``He impressed the committee in his initial interview, his written exercise and in his final interview last Thursday.''
The selection committee included Diaz, Administrative Services Director Shawn Murphy, town residents Jackie Ricks, Bill Logan and Robert Rollason Jr., and Washington, N.C., Police Chief John Crone. by CNB