Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Morehead picked as police chief
He has been with the West Chester Police Department since 1989
Lt. Jim Morehead was chosen to replace Scott Bohn as borough police chief by Mayor Dianne Herrin, Friday. Council will likely vote on the nomination at the March 18 voting session. Herrin also tapped Morehead to take over as acting chief.
“We had excellent candidates to choose from, and I am very grateful for their interest and dedication,” Herrin said. “I am pleased to present Jim Morehead as my nominee for Chief of Police.
“Jim will serve our community and our police department with integrity, excellence, and fairness and with a strong vision for our future.”
Morehead commented on the promotion: “I am genuinely excited and humbled for this opportunity to serve the highly trained and dedicated men and women of the West Chester Police Department. We are a workforce of sworn and civilian personnel who are well prepared to protect and serve the needs of our community. As chief, I will con
tinue to ensure that our officers maintain the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.
“Only through a partnership with the residents of West Chester can we best serve the needs of the community. Together, we will continue making West Chester a wonderful place to live, learn, and visit. I look forward to answering the call to serve West Chester in my newest role. “
The mayor sought to
hire from within the department and a 10-person expert panel (including four mayors) and the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association considered and rated candidate finalists.
“Our internal candidates have undergone oneon-one interviews with me, had seven skill sets benchmarked by a three-person panel of Police Chiefs from the PA Chiefs of Police Association, and underwent an 80-minute interview with a panel of stakeholders and officials with relevant expertise,” Herrin said.
Panel members included: Borough Council Vice President and Public Safety Committee Member Don Braceland; East Bradford Township Manager Mandie Cantlin; Former Chester County DA Joe Carroll; Former 3-Term West Chester Mayor Tom Chambers; and Former 2-Term Mayor and Current State Rep. Carolyn Comitta.
The committee also included Borough Council President Michael Galey; Mayor Dianne Herrin; Chester County Sheriff Fredda Maddox; Former Interim Mayor/Borough Council Member Jordan
Norley; and South Walnut Street Resident Representative Bryan Travis.
Herrin: “I have no doubt Lieutenant Morehead, as Chief of Police, will fully support the Department and serve our community with excellence, integrity, fairness, and vision. Borough Council will vote on the nomination. I anticipate swearing him in immediately thereafter. All members of the public are invited to attend at 7 p.m. in council chambers at Borough Hall on March 18.
Morehead is 54 years old, married to his high school sweetheart, Carolyn,
with two grown sons, Garrett and Christopher.
He attended Widener University for his associate degree work (1984-1986), attended West Chester University for his bachelor’s degree work. (1986-1989) and is currently attending Wilmington University.
He was hired with the West Chester Police Department in 1989 and has worked in all capacities and divisions in the department, including Patrol, Narcotics, Detectives, Community Policing, SWAT, and Administration.
He also attended the FBI
National Academy in 2014 in Quantico, Virginia.
His career is also notable because he started the West Chester Regional SWAT Team in 2001 and is Team Commander. He worked the Chester County Design Team for Public Safety Training Center (2007-2014) and Active Threat Training Advisory Board for Chester County.
He is Police Instructor for the Chester County Public Safety Training Center (2014-Present) and South-East Pennsylvania Terrorism Task Force Board Member (2012-Present).