Oak Ridge North hires new police chief

Oak Ridge North City Council approved hiring new Police Chief Ken Foulch at the July 14 meeting.

What to know

Council members approved Foulch in a 7-0 vote after a recommendation from City Manager Heather Neeley. Foulch was previously a lieutenant with the Huntsville Police Department.

“We did an extensive search where we met with a panel of law enforcement, local law enforcement leaders, and that was stage one. We then went to City directors and then to, ultimately, city council, Mr. Foulch had all of the things that we were looking for,” City Manager Heather Neeley said.

How we got here

On April 14, City Manager Heather Neeley presented the proposal to terminate former Police Chief Tom Libby, following the loss of 19 police officers from the department since 2020 who each cited concerns about a toxic work environment and a lack of training, as previously reported by Community Impact.

The retirement of former Police Chief Tom Libby, who had been with the department for over 30 years in various roles, was announced in a social media news release on April 25.