Two Lumberton aldermen said last week they fully support Police Chief Carlus Page, who said he planned to fight the town’s drug problem and set up a substation in town.
Aldermen Johnny Buckley of Ward 1 and Jonathan Griffith of Ward 3 attended Page’s news conference in front of City Hall last week after Page was hired during a special meeting April 10. Both said Page has already started taking action.
“He looks like he wants to move this police department forward,” Buckley said. “I think he is the man to do it because we are going to back him. On the first day he has been on the job, he has already been around talking with citizens.”
Griffith said, “I think he hit the ground running. He is making some connections and getting things going.”
The Board of Aldermen will support the new chief, Griffith said.
“We are supportive of him and we have been supportive of the other officers that have come through,” he said. “If they had maintained open communication with the board as well as the mayor, it shouldn’t be a problem because everyone would be on the same page. We want him to run the police department; we don’t want to tell him how to run the police department. We just want to make sure he is doing his job and treating everyone fairly.”
Buckley said the town is facing a drug problem that could escalate.
“We have a drug problem here, which he plans to address,” he said. “We are fortunate that we don’t have a lot of major crimes here. If we don’t get it under control now, it’s going to get worse. He’s the guy to do it.
“His resume is very high, and he has so many certifications in training that he has qualified in that are very impressive. With his Marine background and his training, he is very impressive.”
In addition to a substation proposal, Page said he wanted to instill pride for the town in its residents, start a crime suppression unit and serve more warrants on offenders.
Page said he was scheduled to start work in Biloxi last week, but he decided to stay in Lumberton.
“I am grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “I am grateful for the outpouring of love and support I have been shown over the past couple of days, but now it is time to go to work. ... I love this city; I love this department and I love the citizens of Lumberton, so I am here today.”
Page said recent events have shown Lumberton in a bad light, and he plans to turn things around. The former Lumberton police chief, Shane Flynt, resigned after a video that reportedly showed him smoking marijuana received national attention.
“Since 2013, people outside of Lumberton have always given me flak about this police department and the City of Lumberton is a place that no one wants to come to,” he said. “I am standing here today to tell you that they are wrong. The City of Lumberton is a great place to live and a great place to work. … Today is a new day for the City of Lumberton. Today is the day that we start over. Today is the day that our citizens come together with the police department that is strong, that would send our community forward to instill the trust back in the police department.”
The city substation will give police officers “ready access to the heart of the community,” Page said, and serve as a checkpoint for police department personnel. He also warned lawbreakers.
“To all those that have warrants in the City of Lumberton, today is a new day,” he said. “We ask you to come see us because we will come see you.”
Page said the crime suppression unit will be called “CERT: Community Enhancement Recovery Team.”
“We are actually going to be dealing with the outstanding warrants that people may have,” he said. “We are going to try to clean up the drug activity on the streets of Lumberton.”
Page also said he wanted to begin a stricter hiring policy. “There are things I have seen in our hiring policy that I want to correct.”
The City of Lumberton can grow as one unit, Page said.
“We swim, we sink, we all rise together and we all take our place together,” he said. “So, I say today as the new police chief of Lumberton, let’s start over. No more can we be called the laughingstock that people have called us. It is time now to not worry about what has happened in the past; the past is behind us. … This is going to be your city government that is going to take Lumberton to the next level.”
