State public safety chief leaving Gov. Stein’s Cabinet for Raleigh Police role
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Eddie Buffaloe will leave NC DPS to join Raleigh Police as a deputy chief in 2026.
- He will oversee Professional Standards, Administrative Services and Chief's Office.
- Buffaloe leads statewide emergency management, prisons and violence prevention programs.
North Carolina’s top public-safety official is leaving Gov. Josh Stein’s Cabinet to join the Raleigh Police Department.
Eddie Buffaloe is leaving his role as secretary of the N.C. Department of Public Safety to join Raleigh police as deputy chief for the Administrative Services Division.
“We are thrilled to welcome a longtime partner with an extensive background in law enforcement, a proven understanding of emergency management, and a strong commitment to community connections,” Raleigh City Manager Marchell Adams-David said in a news release.
Buffaloe will start Jan. 5, 2026. In the new role, he will oversee Professional Standards, the Administrative Services Division and the Chief’s Office, the release said.
“Serving the people of North Carolina has been the honor of a lifetime,” Buffaloe said in the release. “ I’m thrilled to continue my commitment to public safety in a new capacity, joining the state’s premier police department in the country, the Raleigh Police Department, as Deputy Chief.”
Asked about the departure, DPS spokesperson Jody Donaldson said Buffaloe is retiring from state service and that his last day is Dec. 31.
He shared a statement from Stein, who said, “Eddie Buffaloe has dedicated his career to keeping North Carolinians safe. As Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Advisor, he has led our state through moments of tragedy and disaster and kept us fixed on our mission of building safer communities. I thank Secretary Buffaloe for his good counsel to me and his service to the state of North Carolina, and I wish him continued success in his next chapter with the Raleigh Police Department.”
Career in public safety
Buffaloe was appointed DPS secretary in 2021 by then-Gov. Roy Cooper.
In that role, Buffaloe oversaw the work of the Office of Violence Prevention, Homeland Security, Alcohol Law Enforcement, N.C. Emergency Management, the N.C. National Guard, and the Office of Recovery and Resiliency, which managed home-rebuilding efforts after hurricanes Matthew and Florence and faced scrutiny over delays.
He previously also oversaw state prisons and the State Highway Patrol. The Highway Patrol, however, was moved out of DPS on July 1 under legislation passed by lawmakers and made its own agency within Stein’s Cabinet. The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction was similarly separated from DPS by lawmakers.
Before becoming secretary, Buffaloe served as interim city manager and police chief in Elizabeth City, where Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputies fatally shot Andrew Brown in a case that drew national attention in 2021.
Although deputies carried out the shooting, the Elizabeth City Police Department under Buffaloe managed days of protests that remained peaceful. City leaders told The News & Observer that his long-standing community relationships helped keep tensions down.
Buffaloe has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience. He began his career as a state correctional officer , served 10 years in the North Carolina National Guard, and is a former president of the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, the RPD news release said.
This story was originally published November 26, 2025 at 11:40 AM.
