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Community urges city manager to rescind police chief offer; council and manager defend process
Summary
Hundreds of public commenters criticized the hiring process for Greensboro's next police chief and urged the city manager to rescind an offer to Kamran Afzal, while the city manager defended a national search and council members emphasized both legal authority and the need for community engagement.
Dozens of Greensboro residents used the council's public-comment time to press elected officials to rescind the city manager's offer for police chief and to promote internal candidate Assistant Chief Stephanie Martis.
Speakers from clergy, neighborhood associations and community groups described the selection process as insufficiently transparent and expressed fear that the chosen candidate's record—primarily from his tenure in Dayton, Ohio—did not align with the community's calls to reduce regulatory stops and increase police accountability. Reverend CJ Brinson and others said the community had been promised public forums with finalists and that those forums did not occur.
Multiple speakers cited specific incidents and local patterns of concern. A number of commenters urged the council to ask the city manager to rescind the offer to Kamran Afzal; others called for policies such as written consent for searches and an end to regulatory stops. "We are on the precipice of a new era of policing here in Greensboro and the citizens have no idea what we are getting," said one speaker representing a clergy forum.
City Manager Trey Davis responded from the dais, saying he weighed community input, professional experience and legal considerations in a national search and that state law gives the city manager authority to hire department heads. "Chief Afzal was the most qualified candidate after reviewing many factors," Davis said, pledging engagement opportunities for residents and accountability expectations for the incoming chief.
Council members voiced mixed tones: several reiterated they had supported giving the city manager authority to hire department heads and asked the public to allow the new chief to meet residents, while others acknowledged community anger and emphasized that transparency and reform remain top priorities.
The meeting did not include a council vote on the chief's hire. Speakers asked for next steps including a public timeline of the selection process, public forums with the incoming chief, and stronger assurances on reform measures such as written consent policies. Council members and the city manager said they will create community engagement opportunities after the hire.
This meeting's public comments reflect a sustained, high-profile civic debate about policing and transparency that the city says it will address with future public engagement and administrative accountability mechanisms.
