N.C. chief to lead Columbia force

Tandy Carter has experience dealing with gangs and youth violence that plague Columbia

By ISHMAEL TATE - itate@thestate.com

C. Aluka Berry

Tandy Carter has been selected to be the next police chief for the City of Columbia.

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Tandy Carter

Experience: Police chief in Shelby, N.C., since 2004; served as deputy chief, Wilmington (N.C.) Police Department, having served as interim chief; chief of police, Camp Lejeune, U.S. Marine Corps

Education: Master of science, forensics, National University; bachelor's in criminal justice, Stephen F. Austin State University

Organizations: National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives, International Association of Chiefs of Police, FBI National Academy Associates

When Shelby, N.C., Police Chief Tandy Carter took office four years ago, the city of 22,000 was grappling with gang activity, gun violence and drug sales.

Soon, he will leave that job for Columbia, which faces some of the same challenges.

Mayor Bob Coble confirmed Tuesday night that Carter will be the city’s next police chief.

A formal announcement is expected at 11 a.m. today from city manager Charles Austin, who had the final say in the hiring. Efforts to reach Carter and Austin were unsuccessful.

Carter will take over a department with 298 sworn officers and 356 total employees with a $24 million budget.

He arrives in Columbia as it faces another year of addressing increasing gang and youth violence. He also takes the helm at a department unstable since the sudden retirement in September of former chief Dean Crisp. Carter will be the third chief at the department since then, and his hiring comes months after a cheating scandal involving more than 20 officers.

“He’s got a big job in front of him,” said Tige Watts, president of the Columbia Council of Neighborhoods, an umbrella group that represents the city’s more than 90 neighborhood associations.

Also among the top three candidates were Estelle Young, a captain with the Columbia Police Department; and Dan Johnson, an on-staff attorney with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Carter was the only remaining candidate with police chief experience.

“All three of the candidates would have made excellent chiefs,” Coble said. “City manager Charles Austin just thought Carter would be the best fit for Columbia.”

Coble was looking for three things in the candidates: a commitment to community-based policing; a willingness to tackle gang problems; and an interest in cultivating and maintaining a close working relationship with the Sheriff’s Department.

Carter’s role as an outsider sat well with community leaders like Watts.

“He brings a perspective and maybe some expertise in some areas that we don’t have here,” Watts said.

State NAACP president Lonnie Randolph Jr. said the fact that Carter has never worked in South Carolina isn’t a factor, saying an ideal chief isn’t about geography.

Randolph said he hopes Carter will “present himself in a fair and just way to all people” and said he will reserve judgment until after Carter takes office.

Carter will have to make an effort to reach out to a community that has an up-and-down relationship with the Police Department, Watts said.

“I do think Tandy’s predecessor probably could have done a little bit better job of reaching out to members of the community.”

Shelby residents say Carter can take some of the credit for a decline in crime in the city over the past four years, said Gary Staymate, Cleveland County, N.C., Crime Stoppers president.

Credit also should go to the department and residents for getting involved.

“I guess that Shelby’s loss will be Columbia’s gain,” said Staymate, adding he hates to see Carter leave.

Staymate said Carter’s strength has been building and nurturing relationships between the Police Department and the community.

Carter helped the city get involved in Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Weed and Seed, federally funded programs to help residents take back their communities. Shelby is the smallest city in the country participating in the programs, Staymate said.

He said Carter runs a tight ship and expects professionalism from his officers.

“Our department has continued to grow. I think we’re doing a lot of things right for the right reasons. I think he’s provided leadership for that.”

Reach Tate at (803) 771-8549. Staff writer Adam Beam contributed.