Slouchick becomes CPD assistant chief, 11 others receive promotions

The first of 12 dominoes inside the Columbus Police Department signifying significant change fell Tuesday afternoon when Maj. Gil Slouchick was promoted to assistant chief.

By lunch Wednesday, Chief Ricky Boren will have made a dozen promotions and one major reassignment in his command staff. Maj. J.D. Hawk will be shifted from Patrol Services to the top detective post being vacated by Slouchick. Capt. Charles Kennedy was promoted Tuesday to major and will fill the top spot in Patrol Services.

Wednesday morning, Lt. Debra Kennedy will be promoted to captain and oversee vice, narcotics and special operations. Sgt. Joseph Hart will be promoted to lieutenant in patrol.

Three corporals, Patrick Knight, Johnny Knighten and Charles Weaver, will be elevated to sergeant positions. Fives officers — Zachary Cole, Julie Haynes, Robert Rives, Jacob Siter and Antrellis Williams — will also be promoted Wednesday to corporal, completing the process.

“There are a lot of moving pieces in this one,” Boren said. “Any move that we made created other moves. And there are other moves in the background that most folks are not aware of.”

The moves will make the department stronger, Boren said.

“This promotion, the one we will make later this afternoon and the ones tomorrow will strengthen this department,” Boren told the more than 150 people on hand to watch Slouchick rise to the No. 2 position in the department.

It started last month when Assistant Chief Lem Miller retired.

Slouchick, a 40-year veteran of the force, said he was surprised when Boren reached out to him to fill the assistant chief’s job.

“I really was kind of shocked because he had so many good people to choose from,” Slouchick said. “I was humbled and honored at the same time.”

Slouchick was a cadet in 1976 before joining the force a year later. In 1987, he was promoted to detective and was named the Columbus Police Officer of the Year in 1988. A year later, he was promoted to sergeant. He was promoted to major in 2014.

He has been a member and the commander of the SWAT team, while working in patrol, investigations and special operations.

Slouchick holds a bachelor’s of science in criminal justice from Troy University and a master’s in public administration from Columbus State University.

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Slouchick becomes CPD assistant chief, 11 others receive promotions."