Kristy Cole is officially Graham’s chief of police.
Cole has been interim chief since June 30, when former Chief Jeff Prichard went on administrative leave after a controversial Facebook post. He is now retiring, according to a department news release.
An Alamance County native, Cole joined the department in 1997 and served in the patrol and administrative divisions with ranks of sergeant, captain and assistant chief.
She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from Western Carolina University and East Carolina University, and graduated from the FBI National Academy.
Prichard was quietly put on leave a few days after sharing a controversial post on the department’s Facebook page June 26. There was no public statement. Prichard said sharing the post was unintentional, publicly apologized and removed it, but City Manager Frankie Maness told the Times-News in July the incident was under investigation.
Maness said the Facebook post was not the only factor in Prichard’s leave, but some of the other factors were protected under privacy laws.