First African American chosen to lead New Castle County Police [video]

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     Lt. Col. Vaughn M. Bond, Jr. (New Castle County photo)

    Lt. Col. Vaughn M. Bond, Jr. (New Castle County photo)

    County executive Matt Meyer has nominated Lt. Col. Vaughn Bond to lead the New Castle County Police Department. 

    Pending approval from county council in the coming weeks, Lt. Col. Vaughn Bond would be the first African American police chief in the county’s history.

    During Tuesday morning’s announcement at the public safety building in New Castle, Bond thanked Corporal Robert Snow for his nomination today. Snow was the first African American police officer with the department in 1968. Snow could not attend today’s ceremony because he was ill. 

    “Thank you Cpl. Snow for opening the doors and having the courage to set the path forward for other African Americans to follow.”  

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    The 25-year veteran of the force has been serving as the acting chief since January. 

    “I am very excited for the opportunity to lead such an outstanding police department. I am surrounded by the most innovative, talented and creative minds in policing today. As colonel, I will focus on strengthening our bond and building trust with the community,” said Bond, who intends on continuing the department’s outreach efforts, implementing foot patrols and reminding his officers why they chose this career in the first place, which is to make a difference.

    “We are here to serve with dignity and respect,” he said. “It disappoints me to hear that some community members are afraid to interact with police because they fear us. We have to change the thought process and we have begun to,” Bond said.

    “We’re very proud today to name as our next police chief someone who not only has an exceptional record as a police officer, but according to everyone we’ve spoken to is just a great human being. Someone who’s eager to lead this department forward to continue taking what is, I believe, the finest police agency in the state of Delaware and to continue to move it forward to remain one of the best in the country,” said Matt Meyer, New Castle County’s executive.

    Bond explained he has his work cut out for him, pointing to the county’s growing heroin addiction problem. He said partnerships with addiction advocacy groups are helping to make a dent in the epidemic, adding he will use all resources at hand to identify, arrest and hold dealers accountable.

    Bond joined the New Castle County Police in 1991, earning promotions through the ranks and serving in supervisory and management roles for more than 13 years. A graduate of Delaware State University, the highly decorated officer has completed more than 2,000 hours of specialized training.

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