DAYTON — Interim Dayton Police Chief Matt Carper retired from the Dayton Police Department today after 30 years of service.
“It has been an honor to serve as an Officer and ultimately as the Interim Chief of Police,” Carper said in a statement to News Center 7. “I have a profound respect for our officers and the difficult job they must perform and value the relationships I have made in the community throughout my career.”
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Carper was in the running to be the next police chief for the city but was ultimately not selected in what City Manager Shelley Dickstein said was “probably one of the most difficult decisions” she had to make.
The final choice for the permanent chief position was between Carper and Kamran Afzal, the current police chief in Hopewell, Va., Dickstein said. She chose Afzal “because of his tremendous leadership experience,” she said.
Afzal has also served as police chief in another department and is on the command staff of the Arlington, Va. police department. He started his career with the U.S. Capitol Police.
“At the core, it’s always about improving things as much as you can for others and leaving things in a better place than you found it,” Afzal said.
Afzal will lead the Dayton Police Department that has about 370 sworn officers. Dickstein said she believes he will lead the department through a time of great change for the way policing is done.
“We’re working on reform. It’s a process — it’s not a static flip-a-switch and we are done,” Dickstein said.
Afzal’s first day will be Monday, Dec. 20.