Asheville delays permanent police chief pick until later this year

Asheville is postponing its permanent police chief decision until later this year, keeping Jackie Stepp in the interim role while city leaders decide what kind of chief they want for a department still shaped by staffing pressures, downtown safety worries and public scrutiny.

City Manager D.K. Wesley, who was appointed in December 2025 and sworn in on January 8, 2026, was not rushed into a long-term pick as he settled into the job. Bo Hess, who chairs Asheville City Council’s Public Safety Committee, said officials wanted to give Wesley time to get established before making a decision that will shape the Asheville Police Department for years. The committee advises on police, fire, emergency preparedness and recovery-related public safety policy, making it one of the city’s most important forums for the debate now unfolding.

The delay leaves Stepp as the department’s day-to-day leader. She was named interim chief on November 21, 2025, the same day Mike Lamb retired after nearly 28 years with the department. Stepp has worked for APD since October 2005 and rose through the ranks from sergeant to lieutenant, captain and deputy chief. Her appointment followed another fast-moving transition at the top of APD: David Zack served as chief from February 2020 until his retirement announcement in December 2023, Lamb was appointed permanent chief on February 20, 2024, after serving as interim chief starting in December 2023, and then retired less than two years later.

That history is part of why the next hire matters so much. Asheville’s permanent chief will inherit a department that has been asked to show results on violent crime, rebuild staffing and maintain community trust. APD said violent crime declined 28% under Lamb, with 371 violent-crime incidents in 2025, the lowest total in four years. The department also reported 36 cadets in 2025, up from nine in 2023, a sign recruitment improved even as the city continued to manage a broader public safety transition.

The choice will also come as the city weighs how much continuity versus change it wants in police leadership. Asheville approved a $250.88 million city budget for FY2025 in June 2024 and adopted a $275.8 million FY2027 budget on June 9, 2026, underscoring how much is riding on stable public safety leadership. The city says APD remains CALEA-accredited and operates a 24/7 communications center at (828) 252-1110. For now, Asheville’s top police job remains in interim hands while city officials decide which criteria will matter most when the permanent pick is finally made.