DSU Police Change of Command, Promotions and Awards Ceremony

A historic new era was ushered in March 4 as the University swore in its first-ever Superintendent of Police, as well as the institution’s new Chief of the DSU Police Department.

For images from the ceremony, click on the below link:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48216028@N03/albums/72177720315333139

James T. Overton was instituted as the inaugural Superintendent of the DSU Police Department as well as the new Vice President of Student Affairs during a Change of Command, Swearing-In, Promotions and Award Ceremony in Longwood Auditorium in the Bank of America Building.

After formally being inducted into the positions by Dr. Irene Chapman-Hawkins, DSU Executive Vice President, Superintendent/VP Overton swore in Donald Baynard as the sixth Chief of Police in the DSU Police Department’s 24-year history. He was also sworn in as the Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs.

Superintendent/VP Overton’s elevation and expansion of his oversight comes during his second tenure at DSU. He was a then-new member of the University’s Police Department when enacted state legislation authorized its existence in June 2000. After serving as the Deputy Chief, he became the Chief of Police on campus in 2005 and served in that top post until 2011, when he assumed the Chief of Police position at the University of Massachusetts. He also served as Interim Vice Chancellor of Students beginning in 2012 and was later promoted to Senior Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at that school from 2016-2018.

After working a few years in the private sector, Superintendent/VP Overton returned to DSU for a second stint as Chief of Police in the fall semester 2023 and soon after was promoted to the Vice President of Student Affairs/Superintendent.

A DSU alumnus, Superintendent/VP Overton earned a Bachelor of Science in Sociology in 2004 and a Master of Business Administration in 2010. Before that, he completed an Associate’s degree in Police Science from Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Va. In 2010, he also earned a Master’s in Human Resource Management from Wilmington College,

Chief Baynard is also serving in his second tenure at DSU. After a three-year stint as a Delaware correctional officer, he completed training at the state police academy and became one of the early DSU police officers on campus. He was later elevated to Detective Sargeant and then Operation Lieutenant. In 2012, he relocated north where he joined the University of Massachusetts. By 2013, he was appointed as the UM Chief of Police.

During his tenure as the UM Police Chief, he championed a $1.2 million upgrade to the department’s communication and 911 infrastructure, enhanced its community policing efforts, and developed a university-wide Clery Compliance Group.  Chief Baynard led the department to being awarded its initial police accreditation through the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission in 2015, and he oversaw the affirmation of its accreditation in 2018 and 2021.

He began his second stint at DSU during the fall semester of 2023. Chief Baynard holds an Associate’s degree in Criminal Justice from Delaware Technical Community College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from DSU, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, Mass.

Also during the ceremony, the following promotions were announced:

·         Theodore Johnson was elevated to Sergeant.

·         Jerry Chapusette and Michael Wheeler were both promoted to Master Corporal.

·         Islanda Cruz was elevated to Central Control Coordinator

Master Corporal Wheeler was honored as the DSU Police Department’s Employee of the 4th Quarter, 2023.