10 weeks after police chief’s suicide, new leader is named

The town has a new police chief, 10 weeks after Roleville’s former law enforcement leader died by suicide.

Orlando Soto, who has served as interim chief since March, was appointed chief, the town announced in a news release Thursday.

“The Town of Rolesville is very blessed to have Chief Soto as part of our growing team. He has a tremendous amount of experience, which will no doubt help our Police Department moving into the future,” Town Manager Bryan Hicks said in a statement.

Bobby Langston II, 45, died by suicide in his home March 29. He worked in law enforcement for more than 20 years, joined the Rolesville Police Department in 2013 and became chief in 2015.

Langston’s death shook the fast-growing town of about 6,000 people about 15 miles northeast of downtown Raleigh.

Soto was sworn in as a police officer in 2002 and began his career at Duke University and the City of Durham. He joined the Knightdale Police Department, where he rose through the ranks as a patrol officer, detective sergeant and lieutenant. He joined the Rolesville department in 2015.

“I believe that serving as a law enforcement officer is one of the noblest professions, which has incredible rewards, but also tremendous responsibilities,” Soto, who lives in Rolesville with his wife and children, said in a statement. “With that said, I would like to assure the citizens of Rolesville that my primary focus as Chief, will be continuing to provide professional policing services to the community.”

In a statement, Hicks said, “He has a tremendous reputation because of his professionalism, honor, and character. He will do a wonderful job serving the citizens and businesses of our community.”

This story was originally published June 8, 2017 at 5:24 PM with the headline "10 weeks after police chief’s suicide, new leader is named."