Roanoke Rapids hires outside firm to investigate allegations against police chief, captain

Roanoke Rapids City Manager Kelly Traynham announced Wednesday that the city has retained an outside firm to investigate allegations against the chief and captain of police.

Chief BL Martin and Capt. Jamie Hardy were placed on administrative leave on March 10, and rumors have swirled about allegations against them. But neither the men nor city representatives – including Traynham, city attorney Geoffrey Davis or members of city council – have offered a concrete reason for the suspension.

Traynham has said both Martin and Hary are on an indefinite leave, and neither man would be paid for the duration of that leave.

She said how the leave has been handled is "necessary to allow completion of the internal investigation in a thorough manner and so that it could be kept as confidential as possible, both to protect the integrity of the investigation itself, and out of respect for our employees’ privacy rights."

Richardson & Davis Investigative Consulting Group will "perform an internal investigation of one or more allegations and/or policy violations involving the RRPD," Traynham said, but did not detail what those allegations or policy violations entail. She expects to get their report by the end of the week, and then will decide on next steps.

The city council met in a closed session Tuesday night.

Leaders have said that police services will be unaffected by the absence of Martin and Hardy. Gorton Williams has been named acting chief.