Gastonia’s new police chief a familiar face

Gastonia’s new police chief won’t need to learn his way around the office or the city.

Gastonia native Travis Brittain will take over as the city’s 24th chief of police on Oct. 1, which happens to coincide with the retirement of current Chief Robert Helton.

The current assistant chief, Brittain will oversee 170 sworn officers who operate under a budget of more than $20 million to help protect the city’s 78,000 residents.

“I’ve been at this for quite awhile,” said Brittain, who called his new job the culmination of a lifelong dream.

Brittain’s relationship with the city of Gastonia Police Department began as an Explorer in 1989 while still a student at Ashbrook High School. He became a Gastonia Police officer in 1994 and then began advancing up the ranks, making sergeant in 2004, captain in 2012 and in his current role as assistant chief in 2014.

When asked what helped guide him to the top spot, Brittain recalled some advice he received early in his career.

“A very wise woman once told me, ’It’s hard to hate up close,’” said Brittain.

That woman was Jennifer Davis, a Black woman who grew up in segregated Gastonia, but who would later become a school board member and leader in the county’s business community.

Her advice helped encourage Brittain to not only get involved in the community where he worked, but also seek its help.

As part of his job, he helped establish the Gaston Clergy & Citizens Coalition with the city’s faith community, particularly those who lead predominantly Black congregations. This group was formed several years ago in part because of the actions of Black men being killed across the country during interactions with police.

He continues to serve on the executive board of the Gaston Clergy & Citizens Coalition, but also Habitat for Humanity, where he co-planned initiatives to build homes in areas impacted by crime.

“It’s about relationships,” he said. “It’s an investment in the community, but it’s also something that I enjoy.”

People need to know, Brittain said, that they can bring their concerns to the Gastonia Police Department and that he will listen.

“If we don’t have the trust of the public we can’t be effective,” Brittain said.

In Gastonia’s form of government, the city manager, Michael Peoples, hires and promotes department heads, including the police chief.

The city conducted a nationwide search for police chief, but ended up following a pattern of hiring from within. At least four of the last five city police chiefs have been promoted from within the ranks, several of them natives of Gastonia.

Brittain has the support of Gastonia City Council, said Mayor Walker Reid.

“We are proud to promote someone within our ranks who understands the vision for our city and the importance of working with everyone in our community,” Reid said on behalf of City Council in a statement released by the city.

Brittain takes over as chief of police at a time of protests, both nationally and in the city, involving the way law enforcement interacts with Black citizens.

While some might see this as a difficult time to be a police officer, Brittain said he and other officers still see the job as one of the best ways to make a difference in a community.

“It’s a different environment, different times right now,” Brittain said. “As law enforcement officers, we have to adapt and move with those changes.”

He said adapting includes building trust and having transparency.

It also includes the recruitment and retention of all officers, but particularly Black officers, one of the biggest challenges for not only Gastonia, but all law enforcement agencies across the country.

“We want to do everything we can to mirror the community we serve and that can be a challenge,” he said.

Of the city’s current 170 police officers, 145 (85%) of them are white, 16 (9%) are Black, seven (4%) are Latino and two others are of different ethnic breakdowns. Those numbers have not changed much in the last five years.

Gastonia’s population breaks down to about 63% white, 27% Black and almost 10% Latino.

Brittain said the city has a task force to recruit more minority officers and retain those already on the department.

“It’s tough right now, but something we stay on,” he said.

Gastonia Police also has a total of 16 female officers. About 55% of the city’s residents are women.

Like those who have held the job before him, Brittain said he hopes to create a legacy of what he tried to accomplish in the city’s top law enforcement job.

Some of those will be things people can touch, like improving technology at the fingertips of officers. Others will be more about impressions he hopes to leave.

“This is a job about being a servant to the city,” he said. “I hope people will be able to say, ’He was fair and he looked out for the city.’”

The city will pay Brittain $137,000 a year.

Managing Editor Kevin Ellis, who has known Travis Brittain for more than two decades, can be reached at 704-869-1823 or by email at kellis@gastongazette.com.