Gov. Mike Easley picked Walter J. Wilson Jr., a Tarboro native and 28-year Highway Patrol veteran to lead the organization.
Wilson, pictured at right, will replace Fletcher Clay as the patrol's colonel. Clay is retiring June 30. Easley also promoted Jamie J. Hatcher to lieutenant colonel. Hatcher replaces Cecil Lockley who retired earlier this month.
"These men have demonstrated exceptional leadership throughout their careers in the patrol," Easley said in a news release.
The Highway Patrol, created in 1929, employs 1,823 troopers who cover more than 78,000 miles of state roadways. The patrol has been damaged by a series of revelations involving troopers actions. The allegations have included affairs, drunken driving and rough treatment of police dogs.
Wilson began his career in the Highway Patrol in 1980 Wake County, according to the news release. He holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Campbell University and is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute in Louisville and the FBI National Academy in Quantico.
Hatcher, a Duplin County native, joined the Patrol in 1982 and was first assigned to Bertie County. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the Administrative Officers’ Management Program at N.C. State University.
Easley has only the rest of the year in his tenure, and his successor could decide to appoint someone else to lead the patrol.
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