Mount Holly can welcome a new police chief on Monday, May 20. The town has hired Gaston County native Don Roper to fill the role.
Roper will be sworn in as chief at the City Council meeting Monday.
His philosophy for leadership is simple: Do the right thing for the residents of
“I just try to always think to do what’s right, what’s in the best interest of the citizens,” he said. “As long as I’ve been in a leadership position, I’ve always considered how we can best serve the citizens.”
He said he sees the department is already doing a good job of that.
“I have talked with a lot of people and understand that there are some really good people working there and they enjoy the support of the citizens,” he said. “I’d like to keep that going.”
Roper has a master’s degree in public administration from Appalachian State University. He also graduated from the 246th session of the National FBI Academy.
Roper comes to Mount Holly with 26 years of experience under his belt. He worked with the Gastonia Police Department as a captain of the West District. In that role, he oversaw more than 40 officers.
In his time at the Gastonia Police Department he worked in investigations, the narcotics divisions and eventually made captain of the tactical team and West District.
One of Roper’s proudest moments was when the Democratic National Convention came to Charlotte. Roper was made commander of a platoon of 70 officers from Gaston County who went to the convention to help.
When he heard about the chief opening, he knew it’d be a perfect fit.
“I have all this training and experience and I just felt like I could be beneficial to move into more of a leadership role,” he said. “I saw this opportunity and felt like it was a good fit.”
Mount Holly town manager Danny Jackson agreed.
“He’s tailor made to come in and do a really good job for the city of Mount Holly,” he said.
Roper stood out in all areas during the hiring process, Jackson said.
Roper’s family also has strong ties to law enforcement in Gaston County. His father, Harold Roper, and uncle, Charles Roper, are retired officers and he has brothers who are currently officers in Gaston County.
Above all, Roper said, he wants to make Mount Holly proud.
“I just want to really continue to have a really professional law enforcement agency that serves Mount Holly well,” he said. “I’m looking forward to starting.”
Roper and his wife, Julie, live in Gastonia. They have one son who is attending N.C. State University.
You can reach reporter Lauren Baheri at 704-869-1842 or at Twitter.com/Lbaheri.