The search for a new chief for the Lumberton Police Department has made at least some progress, as the Lumberton Board of Aldermen have received two applications to replace recently-removed former chief Carlus Page.
Mayor Quincy Rogers said Interim Chief of Police Larry Allen and former Lumberton police officer Daniel Wilczek have applied for the position. Although the board has not yet discussed whether to hire either of the two candidates or leave the application process open for a while longer, Rogers hopes to address the matter in the near future.
“Whether it be a special-called meeting or whatever, it’ll be at our next meeting,” he said.
Page was reclassified as a police officer Aug. 20 during a special-called board meeting, at which point Allen was voted as interim chief of police. Allen will continue to serve as interim chief until a permanent chief is found.
“As far as I’m concerned – and I don’t have a vote – but I’m looking for the perfect person for the job,” Rogers said in a previous story. “Whether he’s from (Lumberton Police Department), whether he’s from the next community over, I’m just looking for the perfect person for Lumberton.”
Page was sworn in during an April special-called meeting, after former chief Shane Flynt resigned when a video surfaced of Flynt reportedly smoking marijuana.
After being named chief, Page said his top goals were to establish a police substation, instill pride for the town in its residents, start a crime suppression unit and serve more warrants on offenders. In his first month as chief, two arrests were made that brought attention to the Lumberton police force: a man accused of transporting 4-5 pounds of marijuana in a former Newton County Sheriff’s Department vehicle, and another case which involved a local newborn who tested positive for methamphetamine.
There was no reason given as to why Page was reclassified.
