Ceremony held to honor outgoing KPD chief
Kinston Police Department Chief Alonzo Jaynes speaks at his retirement ceremony Friday at the Kinston Community Center. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News
By Junious Smith III
Alonzo Jaynes’ closed a chapter of his life Friday.
There was a ceremony at the Kinston Community Center to celebrate Jaynes’ career, as his retirement is effective today. Jaynes spent 30 years in law enforcement, including the past three as the Kinston Police Department Chief, and said he’s stepping down due to personal reasons.
Jaynes, who was born and raised in Raleigh, spent most of his career in Durham and had numerous officers come support him from the area Friday, including Robert Gaddy Jr., who trained at the police academy with him.
“Alonzo was a great guy and very funny,” Gaddy said. “I learned how to treat people better and show compassion through him.”
During a speech, Jaynes thanked the scores in attendance for supporting him throughout his career and several across the state for taking chances on him.
“We don’t always know what’s best for us,” Jaynes said. “Some of us take educated guesses, some of us just wing it, but at the end of the day life is about taking a chance. Although I’m putting the badge down, I’m going to live through (my officers and) it’s been an honor. When I say God has shown me favor, he put so many (people) in my life — some opened doors, some kept me humbled.”
Kinston City Manager Tony Sears said Jaynes was a vital part to law enforcement in the area.
“It’s a huge loss,” Sears said. “When we hired Jaynes, we had conversations about the direction of the department, and he’s been more successful than I ever could think about. I hate that he decided to retire because he’s been a great addition to the department, but we wish him the best. He’s earned it.”
Kinston City Councilman Sammy Aiken said Jaynes helped make Kinston a safer place and looked to get Kinstonians involved.
“He was very outstanding with the community,” Aiken said. “There was a major emphasis on Crimestoppers and getting the residents involved. We voted three or four years ago to do away with public safety, separating the fire and police department, and during Chief Jaynes’ time, fatalities have slowed in the past couple of years and crime as well.”
Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Ryan Dawson said the relationship with the organization and KPD was strong in part due to Jaynes.
“It wasn’t just on the crime scene, but with community projects such as National Night Out,” Dawson said. “He was always willing to help out in the county and it was a great work relationship. You don’t always have that with the city and county law enforcement, but it’s been positive and I’m sure we should have the same thing with the interim chief.”
Tim Dilday, who will take over operations with KPD, said the organization will continue to work on what Jaynes brought to the table.
“Chief Jaynes came to us during a time of transition, and it was good to go back to the traditional portion,” Dilday said. “His efforts were built on building relationships in the community, identifying violent offenders and efficiency in servicing the community. We want to continue the programs he’s put into action and also keeping our relationship with Lenoir County Public Schools. We’ll continue to build community relations and want the citizens to understand their police department wants to be here for the good times as well.”
