Local

DeKalb police chief staying, gets promotion

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County's police chief is not only staying in his current position, he's getting a promotion.

Channel 2 Action News first reported Monday that Police Chief Cedric Alexander is staying in DeKalb County, despite efforts by the mayor-elect of Rochester, N.Y. to recruit him.

DeKalb County interim CEO Lee May announced Tuesday morning that Alexander is also receiving a promotion to the newly created position of Deputy Chief Operating Officer for Public Safety.

"He will be managing and supervising all of the public safety functions," May said. "He will be the face of public safety in DeKalb County."

The new position will pay $170,000, a pay increase of $8,000.

May said he had discussed the promotion with Alexander for some time.

"The work that's in front of us is what played as the most important piece of me staying here," Alexander said. "I would like to think that I'm proving myself to the CEO and the community as well."

In a news release, Rochester's Mayor-Elect Lovely Warren said she reached out to Alexander, but, "It became clear we could not compete financially with an offer made by his current employer -- DeKalb County, Georgia. I believe that Dr. Alexander might have been a good choice ... but his work in DeKalb is not finished."

Alexander has been police chief since April. James Conroy will become interim-chief.