Mayor James Reid (far right) congratulates Rocky Burrell on being named Andrews police chief.
Andrews – A familiar face has returned.
Town aldermen appointed a new police chief Monday, making Rocky Burrell the eighth person to lead the department in the past three and a half years.
Burrell, who was employed as an Andrews police officer for about a year beginning in 1999, spent 20 years working in law enforcement before starting a private investigations firm called Sabre Group in 2018. Having been employed by several law enforcement agencies throughout western North Carolina, including the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Burrell hopes to use his professional relationships to enlist more help from area agencies.
“I'm hoping to gain the trust of the business owners and the citizens of Andrews,” Burrell said after taking the oath of office Monday afternoon. “I’m looking forward to bringing back a sense of security because that's the thing you hear the most complaints about.”
Burrell, 42, said he decided to return to law enforcement because he still has friends in the profession. Plus, his son has been studying criminal justice, somewhat planting a nostalgic seed that blossomed when the opportunity to take over Andrews Police Department presented itself.
Burrell, a Marble resident for about 20 years, will serve as the department’s administrative police chief until he completes the necessary requirements to attain the proper certification. He plans to phase out his private investigative work as the process moves along.
“You cannot be a licensed private investigator and have arrest authority,” Burrell said. “The day I regain arrest authority, I have to step away from PI work.”
In the meantime, Burrell plans to seek approval from the Board of Aldermen to begin recruiting a team right away. He plans to meet with two people this week who he may recommend for hire. However, he warns that it could take up to a month before any new officers are fully certified to do the job.
“It's not like you’re flipping a switch by hiring a police chief,” Burrell said. “If we hired 10 officers today, it would be four weeks before they could work because of certifications.”
He acknowledged that there are matters from the past that still must be rectified, such as the evidence room, which local cops are still prohibited from accessing as state investigators probe actions from mid-April that led to the entire police force being suspended.
“I'm here to look toward the future, but I do have to sort out some of that [stuff from the past],” Burrell said.