Chris Blue, Chapel Hill police chief through murders, celebrations and protests, to retire

Chief Chris Blue, who led the Chapel Hill Police Department through tragic murders, raucous NCAA celebrations and Halloweens that brought up to 80,000 people to Franklin Street, will retire at the end of the year.

In a news release Monday afternoon, the town’s police chief and executive director for Community Safety called his decision “bittersweet.”

“It has truly been an honor to serve as a police officer in my hometown for all these years, and I still love every minute of it,” Blue said.

“But, it is time for me to try other things and make space for the next leader of this outstanding organization,” he said. “They will be taking over the most progressive and innovative law enforcement agency in this state, and I’m excited to see what’s next for the incredible team at CHPD.”

Blue, who was unavailable for an interview late Monday, will retire Dec. 31, after 25 years of service to the town. He started as a patrol officer in 1997 and was named chief in 2010, according to the release.

Mayor Pam Hemminger said Blue will be sorely missed.

“He’s just been so solid,” Hemminger said Monday night, adding that she had hoped he might stay longer.

“He respects community values. He believes in community values,” she said. “He makes good decisions.”

Catching a killer

Blue led the department as it investigated the murder of UNC student Faith Hedgepeth in 2012, and the killings of Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, in 2015.

After nine years, and repeated promises they were still actively working the case, police announced in September 2021 they had charged a Durham man in Hedgepeth’s death.

Roland Hedgepeth, Faith Hedgepeth’s father, said he would see Blue whenever he came to town, though he communicated most with Assistant Chief Celisa Lehew. Chief Blue treated him with “the utmost respect,” Hedgepeth said Monday in a phone interview.

“From Day One, he always said the case would be solved,” Hedgepeth said, but added he wouldn’t consider it solved until Faith’s killer and any others who might have been involved are convicted.

“There probably were times I questioned Chapel Hill PD,” Hedgepeth said. “I never did publicly. But I never gave up hope the Lord would take care of it and he would use Chapel Hill PD to do it.

“I wish [Blue] godspeed.”

But the Chapel Hill police did receive public criticism after the deaths of the three young Muslims when Blue said a preliminary investigation suggested a neighbor had shot them over a parking dispute. The family maintained it was a hate crime.

The department was also criticized after police in tactical gear and rifles forcibly removed a group of self-described anarchists and others from a vacant car dealership building on West Franklin Street in 2011. Officers zip-tied a reporter for The News & Observer covering the protest, for which the town later apologized.

Blue, who was not in town during the incident, worked with a town advisory board for months to review policies and avoid repeating the situation.

Policing in a college town

The department was more successful at handling UNC men’s basketball celebrations on Franklin Street after victories over rival Duke and NCAA Final 4 wins. The department also made efforts over several years to scale back Chapel Hill’s unofficial but massive Halloween gathering on Franklin Street.

Hemminger, now in her seventh year as mayor, said Blue understood the nature of policing in a college town.

But she said he also had to show restraint in his department’s backup role as protests around UNC’s Silent Sam statue became more heated. In 2018, students and community members eventually toppled the Confederate soldier statue that had stood on campus for over a century.

People did not understand that Chapel Hill police were not in charge of those campus operations, Hemminger said.

“It was hard [for the town’s officers] not to feel like everybody was beating up on them,” she said.

Town Manager Maurice Jones thanked Blue in the news release.

“He and his staff have collaborated with the community, the Town Council and personnel from throughout our organization to make Chapel Hill a safe and welcoming community,” Jones said. “His commitment to our town will be sorely missed.”

The town will announce a national search process to replace Blue soon.

This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 5:45 AM.