Emergency Manager Darnell Earley Welcomes James Tolbert as New Police Chief

The City of Flint's Emergency Manager Darnell Earley welcomed James Tolbert as the city's new Police Chief on Monday. Tolbert will replace outgoing Chief Alvern Lock who served in that role since 2009 and announced his resignation at the end of September.

Chief Tolbert comes to Flint from the Detroit Police Department where he served for 27 years, most recently as Deputy Chief.

Emergency Manager Earley expressed confidence in Tolbert and said that public safety still remains a top priority and concern. In a statement, Earley said "we will assess and evaluate our available resources and collaborations with local partners to identify ways to improves our service to the community. I would like to thanks Mr. Lock for his years of dedicated service to the City of Flint. Chief Tolbert has a wealth of experience in urban core policing that will prove invaluable to the Flint Police Department as we look forward and continue to seek out the best practices to keep our residents safe."

Tolbert will be officially sworn in at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning before the Emergency Manager's weekly staff meeting.