The State Highway Patrol held a swearing-in ceremony today for Colonel Freddy L. Johnson, Jr., the 28th commander in the agency's 92-year history. The celebration was held at the North Carolina State Capitol Building in Raleigh and was attended by honored guests including Governor Roy Cooper and Department of Public Safety Secretary Erik Hooks.
Col. Johnson was administered his oath of office by the Honorable James F. Ammons, Jr., Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for the 12th Judicial District. Col. Johnson provided remarks to attendees and spoke of the important task at hand with his new appointment.
“I believe there is no better time to undertake this challenge of leading a law enforcement agency, we have an opportunity to help build trust and provide a greater level of accountability all while continuing to showcase the noble work law enforcement officers accomplish every day,” said Col. Johnson. “My approach to accomplishing this will be by building our communities up one interaction at a time. Each time we encounter a member of our community we have the opportunity to build trust, confidence and in turn help to recruit future quality law enforcement officers.”
Col. Johnson officially assumed the role of commander of the State Highway Patrol in April after being appointed to the position by Gov. Roy Cooper. He leads more than 2,100 women and men of the State Highway Patrol who share a primary mission to reduce collisions and make the highways of North Carolina as safe as possible.