Carter tells promoted police officers to build on the future

Columbia Police Chief Tandy Carter allowed family members to pin the badges on officers who were promoted.

Today, 11 Columbia Police Officers were promoted. The department held a ceremony on the front lawn of police department headquarters off of Washington Street.

The department has had a rough few years, with a cheating scandal and a scathing report from an independent review panel and inadequate staffing levels. With all of the bad press, the department lost a lot of officers and, until recently, had trouble hiring new officers. During his speech today, Chief Tandy Carter said two-thirds of the department’s officers were hired within the last four years.

That’s why these promotions are important, Carter said, because it helps to build a future for the department. During the ceremony, a handful of police recruits stood in the back. Carter pointed to them during his speech and told the officers who were being promoted that it was their job to keep those recruits motivated and keep them on the force.

Here’s a video of the swearing in:

Update, here are the officers who were promoted

• Sgt. Jeffrey Dickey
• Sgt. Darin Dougherty
• Sgt. Ronald Felder
• Sgt. Derek Miller
• Sgt. Chris Stokes
• Cpl. Michael Blair
• Cpl. Bryant Ham
• Cpl. Mary Holmes
• Cpl Christopher Jolly
• Cpl Wallis Lacey
• Inv. James Charley