Charles GreenMany N.C. Central University students are sad to see Chief of Police Damon Williams go after he announced his departure from the university for a chief of police position at Fayetteville State University in November.
Williams, known by most students as “Chief,” arrived at NCCU in 2020 and has spent much of his time making connections to the NCCU community.
To commemorate Williams, students began a thread on Fizz, an anonymous social media app for college students, to share their favorite pictures of Williams. The post garnered more than 2000 “fizz-ups,” the app’s versions of upvotes.
Student Government Association President Sha’Lexus Sanders said that Williams has been a mentor figure to her who has helped encourage her through her time at NCCU.
“Chief is actually someone who has uplifted me and motivated me before [being SGA president]. Being in this position, me and Chief are very close and connected,” she said.
Williams announced his departure in a video on NCCU Police’s Instagram account. Part of his decision making was being closer to home, he said. Williams, who lives in Fayetteville, said that his new position will allow him to spend more time with family.
Students seemed understanding of the change, but said that they’ll miss Williams’ leadership.
“I feel like it’s a better opportunity for him to be closer to home and be able to spend more time with family, even though we would hate to see him go,” Jaylan Allen, informational technology sophomore, said.
On Nov. 20, NCCU held a farewell celebration for Williams in the Student Center Event Hall to honor his service to the school. More than 100 students turned out to celebrate.
At the send-off event, junior political science major Alena Dockery said that having a new police chief will be an adjustment.
“I know that for a lot of students, Chief is leaving some big shoes to fill,” she said. “But I hope that Chief [Robert] Gaddy will be able to fulfill the requirements of the role and hopefully earn a spot in some students’ hearts.”
Robert Gaddy, former Patrol Division Police Commander at NCCU, begins his role as interim police chief at NCCU on Dec. 8. Williams also begins his new role at Fayetteville State today.
Andre Roberson contributed to this story.
