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GREENSBORO - The traits attributed to Tim Bellamy upon his appointment as police chief Thursday were, in many ways, polar opposites of what city leaders and many officers saw in his predecessors.

Before making the announcement, City Manager Mitchell Johnson - likening his selection to "spring" for the beleaguered department - listed all the qualifications he saw in the new police leader:

* The new chief wore a "big belt," a reference to the equipment belt worn by street cops, and is not a man who spent a career handling desk duties;

* The chief had a history of fairness with subordinates;

* And the chief showed ability to build cohesion in the department, something sorely needed in the wake of a scandal only starting to subside into history.

"Tim is the right man at the right time for the Greensboro Police Department," Johnson said.

After a decade of police leadership exhibited by a top-down command structure, plus two years of scandal that led to the former chief's resignation, Bellamy represents a basic shift in department attitude.

It is Johnson's hope and, to a large extent, the hope of officers on the force, that the shift restores a public trust damaged by allegations of racial profiling and ethical lapses under former Chief David Wray.

According to Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes, Bellamy is easier to work with compared to his predecessors. For the new chief, it matters little who devised an idea of who would run a collaborative project.

"You get the feeling in talking to him that it's not about ego, it's about getting the job done," Barnes said. "I like that."

Whether Bellamy, a soft-spoken man whose onetime goal was to be a homicide cop, can make progress depends on whether he maintains the same attitudes that Johnson said landed him the job.

"If you have someone who can more effectively use all the talents and skills of the department," Johnson said Friday, "as a citizen, you get more benefits from the department."

More collaboration

The differences between Bellamy and the two previous chiefs in their approaches to the job are many.

Whereas former chiefs David Wray and Robert White preferred an authoritative style to the job - Wray was called "King David," White dubbed "Storm" for his outbursts - Bellamy uses a collaborative decision-making process, seeking advice from the officers to be affected by his decisions.

He demonstrated such an approach by putting together a committee of officers last year to examine patrol schedules.

Wray and White relied on a close group of commanders for advice. By the end of their tenures, some commanders had stopped offering suggestions out of fear of being shunned should their input conflict with the chiefs' stated goals. Bellamy promises to consult all his captains for advice.

That may be the ideal, one local police chief said last week, but human nature pushes leaders toward those whose advice they already have relied upon. Keeping an open mind to every commander requires effort.

"Everybody wants to be an adviser. Everyone wants to have their opinions heard," High Point police Chief Jim Fealy said. "Everyone wants their opinions to be acted upon. And that's just not possible."

Fealy said one way he tries to avoid favoritism among his commanders is by organizing committees for different elements of the department. Giving each commander an assignment allows all his staff to have a voice.

High visibility

A difference in management style is only part of the difference. Visibility, and not just by the top cop, looks to be changing for the city police.

It was rare for the former chiefs to go out on patrol, though White was known more so than Wray for his efforts. Bellamy has promised to hit the streets "four, five, six" times each month, he said hours after his appointment. He'll require future assistant chiefs to do likewise.

"People, when they get to a certain position, kind of get thinking that their job's inside, that there's a certain time of day that they are supposed to work," Bellamy said. "I'm going to push us away from that."

Local law enforcement leaders said Bellamy, named interim chief in January 2006 in the hour after Wray's resignation, said the new chief already shows signs of success. In the interim capacity, Bellamy has continued partnerships with High Point and Winston-Salem police, pooling resources and training opportunities.

Bellamy, who grew up in eastern North Carolina before coming to Greensboro, is asking the community for support to rebuild trust in local police. Internal politics and personalities can only go so far.

"We can't do this alone," he said Thursday in his acceptance speech. "No police department can. We need the assistance of every resident, every law enforcement agency and every group that influences crime and its prevention.

"Creating a safe community truly requires cooperation from everyone."

Contact Eric J.S. Townsend at 373-7008 or etownsend@news-record.com