By Sarah Nagem
snagem@salisburypost.com
EAST SPENCER ó Town leaders voted Monday to hire a new police chief ó the town’s fourth top cop since 2005.
The Board of Aldermen agreed to hire Ronald Hines of Thomasville as the new chief.
Hines has been working as an officer for the East Spencer Police Department for the last few months, Mayor Erma Jefferies said.
Hines beat out interim chief John Reep for the top spot.
According to his resume, Hines worked as a patrol officer for the East Spencer department from 2006 until 2007.
Prior to that, he worked for the High Point Police Department, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, the Thomasville Police Department and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.
Hines graduated from East Forsyth Senior High School. He went on to complete his education at Forsyth Technical Community College in 1988, according to his resume.
He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve for eight years, his resume says.
Jefferies said five members of the Board of Aldermen voted in favor of hiring Hines as police chief. Alderman John Noble abstained from the vote, she said.
“The board just thought (Hines) was an excellent fit for the town of East Spencer,” Jefferies said.
Reep has been serving as interim chief since the former interim chief, Lt. James Schmierer, settled a lawsuit with the town and left the job in June.
That month, the town ended a federal discrimination lawsuit Schmierer had filed when it settled with him for $50,000 and agreed to pay another $15,000 for his legal fees.
In the civil suit, Schmierer, who is white, had accused the town and four aldermen of racial discrimination when they hired a black man instead of him in 2005.
When that police chief, Eric Williams, resigned in 2007, Schmierer became interim chief.
Schmierer agreed to resign from his post as part of the settlement agreement.