Meet Police Chief Armstrong
We have been hard at work advocating for our community and making connections. This week John Wynn was able to speak with Police Chief Jason Armstrong with the city of Apex. He had an opportunity to interview him and ask him a few questions. Here is a little information we got from him during this interview.
Police Chief Armstrong is Half African American and Half Haliwa Saponi. He was born in New Jersey and later moved to Fayetteville, NC at the age of Eight. He remembers visiting Hollister for the Pow Wow when he could. After graduating from North Carolina Central University(NCCU) he moved to Atlanta.
Police Chief Armstrong decided to become a police officer during his senior year at NCCU. He was interested in working with the FBI but didn’t find it intriguing when working with them.
While working with local law enforcement Armstrong received many promotions. He became the interim police chief of the Forrest Park Police Department at the age of 38. It was during this time he learn how to navigate things. In 2019, he was police chief in Ferguson, Mississippi, a city known for the 2014 killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown. During his time here, it was a very challenging experience, but it helped him grow and prepare for the future.
The biggest challenge he had faced as a minority in a White Male driven profession, is that many would minimize his accomplishments. He was once told, "they have to promote you because you are black" and not because of the skills he possessed. Anytime he had achieved something, it was like people wanted to put an asterisk beside it.
At Apex Police Department, there are a decent amount of minorities, and he is working towards recruiting more in his department, but in terms of actual races/ethnicities, no knowledge of other American Indians are in his department or others.
Chief Armstrong’s advice to youth who want to become Police Officers and climb the ranks is to stay patient and master your assignment. Many come in and after two years have issues, due to their lacking patience and wanting to move up so quickly. Focus on what you are assigned and give it 110%, and this will allow you to move up the ranks or to other units. Now and in the next few years there will be a great opportunity to enter the ranks, as a lot of places in North Carolina are having shortages of officers.
We are thankful to Police Chief Armstrong for giving John the opportunity to speak with him. We hope to have a continued relationship and welcome him to future events.
