From interim to chief: Toni Dezomits takes head position at Cary Police Department

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Cary has a new police chief.

On Tuesday, town officials announced that Toni Dezmotis, 51, had taken on the position.

She was acting as the interim police chief since December 2018, after former Police Chief Tony Godwin retired.

She was hired by the department in 1998 as a patrol officer.

She has spent more than two decades in different positions with the department including: Assistant police chief, professional standards commander, field operations officer and sniper on the SWAT team.

"Because of the life and death nature of the job, and because of the need for positive, high-profile relationships with all aspects of the community, and because a city has nothing without safety, chief of police is the single most significant hire of a manager's career, and I believe that Toni Dezomits is the perfect match for the department, organization, and Cary as a whole," said Town Manager Sean R. Stegall. "She is a very, very impressive person who works hard and demonstrates our culture at every opportunity. She is on an amazing trajectory with limitless potential to influence people in a positive way."

She joins the growing list of female police chiefs in the Triangle. Durham, Raleigh, Morrisville and Fuquay-Varina all have female chiefs.