Veteran of Chapel Hill police department hired as town’s first woman chief

Chapel Hill’s next police chief will be the town’s first woman to head the department and a 19-year veteran who has served in a variety of roles.

Assistant Chief Celisa Lehew was chosen to replace retiring Chief Chris Blue after a nationwide search, Town Manager Maurice Jones said in a news release Friday.

Lehew will start her new job as the town’s ninth chief on Jan. 1, he said.

“I am thrilled to be able to select one of our own to build on the lasting legacy of Chief Blue and the officers who have served with him,” Jones said.

“Assistant Chief Lehew has been not only a leader in this organization but a leader in our community on many of the critical issues related to improving community safety for all,” he said. “Through a rigorous process, which included a deep and talented pool of candidates, she presented us with a vision that continues the vital work that has made the Chapel Hill Police Department a leading organization locally, regionally, and nationally.”

Lehew started as a patrol officer under former Chief Ralph Pendergraph in 2004 and has served in each of the department’s divisions. She has been the lead investigator on multiple, high-profile crimes, including the murders of UNC students Eve Carson in 2008 and Faith Hedgepeth in 2012.

Lehew told The News & Observer that those cases, and others, had a big impact on her professional development.

“Those were very dear to my heart, and definitely (I) formed strong relationships with the families, and I’m just so thankful that we were able to bring a little bit of closure for them,” Lehew said Friday.

The power of community

Lehew, a native of Sault Ste Marie, Canada, said she became interested in criminal justice at a young age. Her grandfather created the first program in Ontario, Canada, to help people re-enter society after being incarcerated, she said. She grew up knowing community and giving everyone a seat at the table were important values.

While earning her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Lake Superior State University, she realized law enforcement was a way to help people. She applied to work in Chapel Hill because of its progressive approach, she said. (She later earned a master’s degree in justice administration from Methodist University.)

Being the town’s first woman chief doesn’t necessarily give her an advantage in leading the department, Lehew said, but it is an opportunity to support the women officers new to the profession and to give them a voice, she said.

“It is great to bring a perspective to the table. I think that I’ve always had the opportunity here to have a voice and contribute where needed, and I want to make sure that those women behind me, as we develop our next leadership teams, feel that way,” Lehew said.

Blue, who announced his retirement in June, has been with the town for 25 years and was named chief in 2010, according to the town.

Blue told The N&O that Lehew has been working toward this goal for a long time and is “going to be fantastic.”

“She’s really thoughtful, and her tendency is to want to — when the situation allows, when time allows — she likes to hear from a lot of different points of view before making a decision,” Blue said. “And I think the good thing about that is you get good, full information before you make a decision and you also involve folks around you who have something to offer.

“I’ve observed her regularly involve the people around her in thinking about a solution to a problem or the right answer to a challenging situation,” he continued, “and I know that we’ve got a really good team here, folks who like to contribute, and will contribute and support her.”

New chief’s goals

Lehew said she is proud of the relationships she has formed with community partners and is looking forward to building on that.

While she is sad to see Blue retire, she’s also “really passionate and excited” about the next chapter for her fellow officers and the department, she said. Besides building on community relationships, she wants to keep improving the community policing program, add more officers from diverse backgrounds, and provide them with a “robust health and wellness program,” she said.

Young officers don’t want to know about job requirements, Lehew said. Instead, they are asking about work-life balance, Chapel Hill’s “community feeling,” and what veteran officers have taken away from their experiences. The best practices for law enforcement also have changed in the last five or 10 years, she said.

“I love my position today, as much as I did the first day I walked through the door, and I’m just really thankful that I am going to be serving in a community as a chief, for not only the internal officers and such that I work with, but also such a great community that really has that forward-thinking, progressive expectation of policing,” Lehew said.

When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband, their two daughters, and the family’s French Bulldog, the release said.