RALEIGH (AP) — The commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol announced Friday that he is retiring, ending a nearly 30-year career as a state trooper.

Col. Glenn McNeill Jr. said his retirement takes effect on April 1, news outlets reported.

McNeill, who has been with the patrol since 1993, was appointed as the agency’s 27th commander by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2017. He was the second Black man to hold the position.

After McNeill retires, Cooper will have over a month to choose a replacement.
McNeill told WTVD when he took over as commander that he went into law enforcement because his mother was murdered when he was 10 years old and that the crime has never been solved.

Public Safety Secretary Eric Hooks credited McNeill with adding more vehicles and aircraft for the patrol, and that he also successfully fought for pay raises for troopers and pushed to make the agency more diverse.

McNeill’s tenure was also marked by several controversies, including one in which two troopers were arrested in 2019 for writing tickets in Harnett County that were never handed out, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported, leading to people losing their licenses or having warrants issued for their arrest.