Barnwell Takes Oath as ECU Police Chief | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post, Doug Boyd, is a contributor to ECU News Services.

    Friday's swearing-in ceremony was a bit like a homecoming for East Carolina University Police Chief Jon Barnwell.

    His wife and two sons were there, along with present and former co-workers from previous posts he's held. Not to mention that he and his wife, who came to ECU from Tulane University in New Orleans, are from North Carolina.

    "This was a unique opportunity to allow my family to come home to North Carolina and to allow me to continue to serve the public in a law enforcement capacity," Barnwell said Friday after taking the official oath of office at the student center on ECU's Health Sciences Campus.

    Since beginning at ECU on Sept. 1, Barnwell has overseen the implementation of body cameras on ECU Police officers and is working with the Student Government Association to establish a student safety council. He's also leading the effort to widen the use of technology for police work. An example is monitoring video footage to alert officers of potential problems rather than just using the footage to investigate after an incident has occurred.

    "He's where we want to be as far as thinking about better uses of technology," said Bill Koch, associate vice chancellor for environmental health and campus safety at ECU.

    A Hendersonville native, Barnwell has 19 years of experience in campus law enforcement. Before coming to ECU, he worked as superintendent of police at Tulane. His wife, Brandy, is from Morganton. They have five children.

    Barnwell began his law enforcement career at North Carolina State University, working his way up from patrol officer to deputy chief of field operations. At NCSU, Barnwell worked for Tom Younce, a former assistant police chief at ECU.


From left, Denise Harris, business services coordinator for the ECU Police Department, reads the oath of office for new ECU Police Chief Jon Barnwell as his wife, Brandy, holds a Bible during Barnwell’s swearing-in ceremony Friday, Dec. 15. (Photos by Rhett Butler)
    "He just has a world of expertise to bring here," said Younce, now a consultant and who was at Friday's swearing-in ceremony. "He's got the personality for eastern North Carolina. If I had the chance to hire him, I'd hire him today."

    Barnwell has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Mount Olive and is a graduate of the West Point Military Leadership Institute. He said the welcome he's received at ECU has been appreciated.

    "It validates my decision to come here," he said.

    The ECU Police Department employs approximately 60 sworn officers and a civilian staff. It is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Law Enforcement Agencies and the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.