Roanoke Rapids police Chief Shane Guyant sees the day when the department will be the best in the state.
For the newly-hired chief, the statement is not made up of mere empty words but comes in the form of a guarantee.
“I tell my staff and I mean this — We’re going to be the best in the state of North Carolina — trust me. Just watch,” he told the Roanoke Rapids City Council Tuesday. “We’re going to be the best police department the state has. I guarantee you it’s going to happen.”
Guyant was discussing the department’s core values when he made the promise under the value of excellence, part of his shield philosophy of police work. “My expectations for the most part boil down to our core values and they represent a word called shield — service, honesty, innovation, excellence, leadership and dedication. That represents what we wear on (our) chests. You go back to the Greeks and the Romans — that shield protected people. What it does for you and I is it protects us.”
Guyant said, “We’re going to serve our community as a protector and a provider of peace and as a community engager. We can’t get anything done unless the community trusts us, unless the community actually loves us and appreciates that we’re actually looking after their best interests.”
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Guyant came to Roanoke Rapids from the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office where he served as a lieutenant responsible for hiring, internal affairs, grants and training. He also served as the public information officer.
“We’re definitely excited to have Dr. Shane Guyant as our new police chief and I know he is excited to take on this opportunity and to work with the officers of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department and continue a good working relationship with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office,” City Manager Kelly Traynham said in her introduction of the chief to the council. “The work that our law enforcement officers do day in and day out, every night and every day is tough. Each one of you in the audience right now who is a part of that I thank you.”
Despite having 30 years in, Guyant told the council, “I’m not going anywhere. I’ve still got a lot left in me and I’m very much willing to take on this challenge, love this challenge and I cannot wait to jump in head first so much that on my very first day we had a major crime.”
Guyant thanked interim Chief Gorton Williams. “What a job he did during this interim period. I’ve so much enjoyed talking to him this week. I look forward to working hand in hand with him. We’ve had some poignant, private conversations. He’s a good man, a great man and I am so glad to have him right here by my side.”
He thanked the officers who attended the meeting, saying they have weathered a storm and “decided to hang out, be a part of this department, be a part of this city instead of jumping to go somewhere else where they probably could have had less of a stressful event.”
Said the new chief, who started Monday, “These officers that you see here are just a small handful that are representing this city. These are great men and women. They truly have big hearts and they really and truly love this city and love these people.”
He recognized the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office. “Sheriff Tyree Davis and I have become really good friends. This past year has been a really good relationship with him and his executive staff. I was very honored to be a part of that and the relationship that we have with the sheriff’s office and the police department is probably going to be stronger than ever. That’s a great feeling to know that we’ve got brothers in green that have got our backs. The city is going to be so, so better off because of that relationship.”
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Guyant believes getting the position was one in which, “God’s plan came to fruition and put me in the position. Unfortunately the position became available and fortunately for me I was able to attain this position. I live my life with high integrity, I live my life caring about the people who work with me hand in hand. I told my staff that there is no me or I — it’s us and we.”
The decision to hire Guyant as chief came after the termination of former Chief Bobby Martin in April as well as the termination of the city’s second top-ranking law enforcement officer — former Captain Jamie Hardy.
The firings of the city’s top-ranking law enforcement officers came after an independent investigation into alleged policy violations was conducted by the consulting firm of Richardson & Davis Investigative Consulting Group.
In discussing the remainder of the department’s core values, Guyant said, “You can’t do this job without being honest. We’ve got to be honest with everybody. We’ve got to be honest and transparent and talk about things in an honest and truthful way.”
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The department will rely on innovation and taking advantage of today’s technology. “We have to find ways to write grants that get technology to help supplement loss of manpower. We have to do better things, better ways. I hate the term ‘that's how we’ve always done it.’”
There will be an emphasis on doing things innovatively and “getting creative thoughts from these officers that work, getting creative thoughts from the council, getting creative thoughts from the citizens in this city.”
As far as leadership, the police chief said, “You don’t have to be a boss to be a leader — everybody can be a leader. These officers engaging in the community with young children can identify young children that have a desire to one day serve as well. They too can become law enforcement officers, they too can be wearing the blue we wear in Roanoke Rapids.”
He said it is important that young children from different environments come to understand that police work is inclusive and that the community’s help will be crucial as the new administration begins. ‘We can’t get anything done without the community’s help and without the community’s appreciation and without the community’s admiration for what we do. We’ve got to be the catalyst to get that done.”
Guyant said, “We’ve got to be dedicated to one another. We’ve got to be dedicated to this city. We’ve got to understand that times are tough. We’ve got to pick up our bootstraps and keep going.”
He will instill in the department the core values. “I’ve asked my staff to understand and know what they are and I challenge anybody in the city that when you see a police officer to ask them what their core values are and ask them what they mean. Give them a little bit of time to acclimate to it — that is what being a police officer is all about.”
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Of his 30 years in law enforcement, he calls Roanoke Rapids the one which has sparked his excitement the most as well as the challenge “to be able to lead these men and women to greatness. If I can give them that feeling of success that I have had in my career and they can honestly hold that and they can feel what it feels like, you can’t stop these men and women with this police department.”
Said Guyant: “We don’t talk about the past, we talk about the future. We will move forward, we will be stronger than ever and we will earn your respect, your trust and your admiration. These officers deserve to know that people back them, love them and support them. It ain’t about me. It’s all about them.”
