Greensboro commission urges leaders to reverse police chief hiring

A Greensboro advisory commission has asked city leaders to reverse Kamran Afzal’s appointment as police chief, turning a personnel decision into a broader fight over trust, transparency and control of public safety in the city.

Kevin Lightsey, who chairs the Greensboro Criminal Justice Advisory Commission, said the decision can be overturned, at least in his reading of the legal landscape. That gives opponents of the hire a path beyond public comment and protest, and it puts new pressure on City Hall to defend how the search was handled.

City Manager Nathaniel “Trey” Davis announced Afzal on March 31 after what the city described as a competitive national search and extensive interview process. John Thompson retired in February after 23 years with Greensboro, and Assistant Chief Chris Schultheis has served as interim chief since Feb. 27. The chief reports to the Assistant City Manager for Public Safety, placing the job squarely inside the city’s executive chain of command.

The commission’s intervention matters because it is not an outside protest group. The Greensboro Criminal Justice Advisory Commission is a nine-member, council-appointed resident body whose role includes identifying issues, hosting forums and offering perspective on policies that affect residents’ interactions with law enforcement. Its letter signals that the backlash has moved from criticism of one hire to a challenge to the city’s process and judgment.

The dispute has centered on whether the search gave enough weight to community input and whether internal candidate Stephanie Mardis, who is listed by the city as assistant chief, deserved stronger consideration. The city said Developmental Associates gathered feedback from police employees and residents during December 2025 community input sessions, but critics have argued that the final choice did not reflect what residents said they wanted in the next chief.

Afzal came to Greensboro after leading departments in Hopewell, Virginia, where he became chief in January 2019, and Dayton, Ohio, where he became director and chief of police in December 2021. Greensboro has pointed to his emphasis on community input, internal policy transparency and stakeholder engagement as part of the case for hiring him.

For supporters of the commission’s letter, the dispute is bigger than whether Afzal is qualified. It is about whether the city listened in a way that residents could trust. For critics of the pushback, the effort can look like a rejection of a national search and of the city manager’s authority to choose from a wider field.

The stakes are practical as well as political. If the commission’s push gains traction, city leaders may have to revisit the search process or spend months defending it. If it goes nowhere, the new chief could still begin his tenure under a cloud of skepticism, with Greensboro’s policing priorities and community trust still in dispute.