By Shavonne Potts
Salisbury Post
In two days, Salisbury Police Lt. Mike Dummett will assume his duties as a the new police chief of the Raeford Police Department.
His last official day with the Salisbury Police was Friday.
The move means leaving a place he’s called home for many years, but embarking on a new journey.
“You make a lot of friendships and develop a certain amount of loyalty,” he said of the Salisbury Police Department.
Dummett said he got to the point where he was finishing his master’s degree and since he knew his ultimate career goal was to become a chief, this was a natural progression.
Once the application procedures were under way, Dummett went before an assessment board for an evaluation process that included an interview and community presentation.
His goal for the Raeford Police Department is to “maintain the level of professionalism.”
The immediate goal is to earn accreditation for the department ó a goal the Raeford city manager wants to move toward, Dummett said.
He said he’s learned many lessons in his near 17-year career that will serve him well as chief.
A couple are to “take everything on a case-by-case basis and go by the facts because the facts will lead you to the truth,” he said.
Dummett began as a patrol officer on March 10, 1992. He was soon recruited to work in the narcotics division. Around the same time in 1994, he was a secondary sniper with the SWAT team and became a primary sniper in 1999.
He was then promoted to sergeant team leader and for about two years he worked as the third-shift watch commander and later for two years as the southside district commander.
Dummett was promoted in 2002 to the commander over the SWAT team.
He has been an investigations commander ever since.
Dummett begins on Monday with the Raeford Police Department.
Contact Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253 or spotts@salisburypost.com.