On Wednesday, January 29, 2024, retiring Wake Forest Police Chief Jeff Leonard was awarded The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award for state service given by the North Carolina Governor. Leonard, a Wake Forest native, is the first town resident awarded this honor.
John Lucey, Legislative Director for Governor Josh Stein, presented the award to Leonard during a reception to celebrate Leonard’s retirement from the Wake Forest Police Department after 32 years of service – the last 15 as chief of police.
“We’ve had a program this evening filled with folks able to talk about the incredible impact Chief Leonard has been able to have on the town of Wake Forest,” said Lucey. “How our state and governor say thank you to those whose service to their communities goes above and beyond – is induction into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.”
The award is presented to people who have made significant contributions to our state and their communities through exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments. People named to The Order become honorary North Carolina “ambassadors” with their names and award dates recorded on a roster maintained by The Order of the Long Leaf Pine Society.
This week Leonard said he was surprised by the accolade, “Yes, most definitely,” and said he thought the nomination came from within the police department.
A Wake Forest native and NC State graduate, Leonard began his career in public service as a volunteer with the Wake Forest Fire Department in 1987, where he served until 2010.
Leonard joined the Wake Forest Police Department as a part-time auxiliary officer in 1992 before becoming a full-time officer in August 1994. Over the next several years, he served in a variety of specialized positions, including Juvenile Officer, General Crimes Detective, Narcotics Sergeant (2001), Investigations Lieutenant (2003), and as a member of the Tactical Service Unit. He was promoted to Major in 2003, Deputy Chief in 2007, Interim Chief in January 2010, and Chief of Police in July 2010.
Under Leonard’s direction, the WFPD achieved CALEA accreditation in 2018 and re-accreditation in 2022. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Administrative Officers Management Program through NC State University.
Leonard’s department not only issued traffic tickets and solved local robberies. It was also essential in a case that began in the Heritage subdivision and ended in a apartment in Atlanta, Ga. In July of 2014 a man was abducted from his Wake Forest home and Leonard’s department quickly put together information: the man’s daughter was a Wake County prosecutor who had put an Atlanta gang boss in a North Carolina prison. The FBI, law enforcement at all levels in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia were alerted. Five days later the abducted man who had been held blindfolded and tied to a chair in an Atlanta apartment was freed by FBI agents who crashed into the apartment just before the man was to be murdered.
###On Wednesday, January 29, 2024, retiring Wake Forest Police Chief Jeff Leonard was awarded The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award for state service given by the North Carolina Governor. Leonard, a Wake Forest native, is the first town resident awarded this honor.
John Lucey, Legislative Director for Governor Josh Stein, presented the award to Leonard during a reception to celebrate Leonard’s retirement from the Wake Forest Police Department after 32 years of service – the last 15 as chief of police.
“We’ve had a program this evening filled with folks able to talk about the incredible impact Chief Leonard has been able to have on the town of Wake Forest,” said Lucey. “How our state and governor say thank you to those whose service to their communities goes above and beyond – is induction into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.”
The award is presented to people who have made significant contributions to our state and their communities through exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments. People named to The Order become honorary North Carolina “ambassadors” with their names and award dates recorded on a roster maintained by The Order of the Long Leaf Pine Society.
This week Leonard said he was surprised by the accolade, “Yes, most definitely,” and said he thought the nomination came from within the police department.
A Wake Forest native and NC State graduate, Leonard began his career in public service as a volunteer with the Wake Forest Fire Department in 1987, where he served until 2010.
Leonard joined the Wake Forest Police Department as a part-time auxiliary officer in 1992 before becoming a full-time officer in August 1994. Over the next several years, he served in a variety of specialized positions, including Juvenile Officer, General Crimes Detective, Narcotics Sergeant (2001), Investigations Lieutenant (2003), and as a member of the Tactical Service Unit. He was promoted to Major in 2003, Deputy Chief in 2007, Interim Chief in January 2010, and Chief of Police in July 2010.
Under Leonard’s direction, the WFPD achieved CALEA accreditation in 2018 and re-accreditation in 2022. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Administrative Officers Management Program through NC State University.
Leonard’s department not only issued traffic tickets and solved local robberies. It was also essential in a case that began in the Heritage subdivision and ended in a apartment in Atlanta, Ga. In July of 2014 a man was abducted from his Wake Forest home and Leonard’s department quickly put together information: the man’s daughter was a Wake County prosecutor who had put an Atlanta gang boss in a North Carolina prison. The FBI, law enforcement at all levels in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia were alerted. Five days later the abducted man who had been held blindfolded and tied to a chair in an Atlanta apartment was freed by FBI agents who crashed into the apartment just before the man was to be murdered.
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