Gov. Roy Cooper appoints WSSU police chief Amir Henry to state commission

Last week Governor Roy Cooper announced appointments to North Carolina Boards and Commissions. Winston-Salem State University's Chief of Police Amir Henry was appointed to the NC Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.

The commission serves the citizens of North Carolina by establishing the regulations for the training and certification of law enforcement officers. Members of the commission also regularly review standards and best practices for training and certification.

Chief Henry has had an extensive career in law enforcement and brings nearly 20 years of experience to the commission. His background includes extensive knowledge in command level supervision, risk management, incident command center implementation, security threat groups training, and intelligence documentation.

In 2017 Henry joined the WSSU Police Department as deputy chief and was promoted in 2020 to the chief. Before working for the university, Henry served as a state trooper for the North Carolina Highway Patrol and battalion communication supervisor for the United State Marine Corps.

"I'm excited to serve the citizens of North Carolina in this capacity. Training is critical to the success of our officers," said Chief Henry. "By doing this work, I hope to bring some critical oversight and a fresh perspective to this role to ensure there's accountability throughout the state's agencies."

Chief Henry will be the only official representative of a state university, and he will also be the first commissioner to represent an HBCU. He will serve a four-year term and be officially sworn in August.