CityView Magazine

8 May 2021 BILL KIRBY JR. 'A trooper's trooper …' BY BILL KIRBY JR. L et there be no question about this decision. e governor got this one right in selecting Col. Freddy Johnson Jr. as commander of the N.C. State Highway Patrol. "He's a trooper's trooper," says S.D. "Deric" Reed, himself a 16-year Master Trooper, who grew up in south Cumberland County with Johnson. "He's a trooper's commander, because he really believes in and loves the troopers on the street. "He has always kept his focus on the men and women on the streets, and never forgotten where he came from. "He's definitely," Reed, 48, says, "the right man for the job." Freddy Johnson Jr. walks tall and statuesque. His is a gait of assuredness. He is polished, and the personification of a state highway patrolman, with gray uniform shirt tucked tight and the signature campaign hat with the pinched four corners atop his head and always perfectly in place. His is a demeanor of purpose, when guarding the state's roadways, byways and highways, and Freddy Johnson has been that kind of trooper since taking his oath in the name of public safety since becoming an honor graduate of the N.C. State Highway Patrol Basic Training School, No. 1 in the Class of 1995. Johnson becomes the 28th NCSHP commander since the NCSHP was established in 1929 by the General Assembly, replacing Col. Glenn McNeill, who retired on April 1. e Col. Freddy Johnson Jr. governor chose Johnson on April 7 as McNeill's successor to lead the NCSHP of more than 1,600 troopers patrolling more than 80,000 roadway miles in 100 statewide counties. "Commander Johnson has shown his dedication to keeping North Carolina safe with his distinguished law enforcement career," Gov. Cooper tells CityView Magazine. "He is committed to his community and will continue to make North Carolina safer and stronger in this new role." Erik A. Holder, who is Secretary of the N.C. Department of Public Safety, joins the governor in support of the new commander. "I am extremely grateful to Governor Cooper for selecting Johnson as the new commander of the State Highway Patrol, as he will be an integral part of my DPS leadership team," says Hooks, a Spring Lake native. "Commander Johnson's leadership throughout his career and in his community will serve him well. As a fellow Cumberland County native and a career public servant, I am particularly pleased to have Colonel Johnson take on this important role." Out Stoney Point way For Freddy Johnson Jr., 49, his ascent to lead the NCSHP began at Stoney Point Fire Department, where his father, Freddy Johnson Sr., was chief of what then was an all-volunteer department, and Freddy Johnson Jr. was growing up in the brick home with the rail fence adjacent to the fire house. And it was there where Rudy Hines, a highway patrol sergeant, took on part-time work as a firefighter. "Rudy Hines was a trooper stationed here and joined the fire department," Freddy Johnson Sr. says. "I remember the first time Freddy met him. at nailed it for him, and Freddy wanted to be a highway patrolman since he was in high school." He first would follow in his father's footsteps of a firefighter and law enforcement officer. "He grew up in the fire department," Freddy Johnson Sr. says. "We only had a couple of fulltime firefighters. But he was exposed to major fires and accidents. He found himself at a young age commanding fires, and he did a great job. He became a credentialed fire officer. He is well-versed at decision-making, and still is deputy fire chief here." 'If you are going to do this' But the NCSHP always was on Freddy Johnson Jr.'s mind. "He said one day, 'Daddy, I'm putting in my application for the state highway patrol,'" his father says. "I said, 'If you are going to do this, I want you to go in with a mindset that you will run the highway patrol, and one day be the commander." Benny Nichols is the retired City of Fayetteville fire chief, who lives across from the Stoney Point Fire Department and has watched Johnson is polished, and the personification of a state highway patrolman, with gray uniform shirt tucked tight and the signature campaign hat with the pinched four corners atop his head and always perfectly in place.

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