NORTH CHARLESTON — After six months of searching for the city’s next police chief, Mayor Reggie Burgess selected law enforcement veteran originally from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Days after the Nov. 4 announcement, Burgess discussed the search process and why he chose a leader outside of South Carolina.

The city brought in the research firm Police Executive Research Forum, called PERF, to help with the process. David Cheatle, special assistant to the mayor, led the effort and the final decision rested with Burgess.

The new chief, Ron Camacho, takes office on December 9.

Selecting an out-of-state leader

In September, the city reduced the pool of 34 candidates for six finalists: three from the Charleston area and three from out of state. Of the three area finalists, two are deputy chiefs with the North Charleston Police Department.

After final interviews were completed, including a session with a 10-person panel of community stakeholders, Burgess selected Camacho.

“I don’t care where you come from, as long as you can do the job,” Burgess told the Post and Courier on November 12.

Burgess, who served as the department’s police chief for five years starting in 2018, said that in modern times, most of the department’s leaders come from outside agencies.

Deciding not to hire internally

The two deputy chiefs among the six finalists were Angela Johnson and Karen Cordray.

Cordray joined the department in 1992, serving in various capacities for more than 30 years. In 2018, she became the first female deputy chief in the department’s history.

Johnson has worked for the department for nearly three decades. She started as a police officer in 1996 and became deputy chief in 2022, making her the first African American woman to hold that rank in the department’s history.