By Nancy McCleary
The Fayetteville Observer
RED SPRINGS, N.C. — The assistant chief of the Red Springs Police Department was fired after being involved in an off-duty wreck in a patrol car.
Town Manager James Bennett confirmed Wednesday that Kevin Locklear, 48, was terminated in December, about three weeks ago.
“His departure was in regards to an accident in a town-owned vehicle,” Bennett said.
That crash happened Oct. 31, about 7:30 a.m., on West Palmer Avenue in Raeford.
Locklear was driving his unmarked Dodge Charger when it crossed the center line and hit another vehicle, Raeford police said.
The occupants of the other vehicle said the blue lights on Locklear’s vehicle were activated when the crash happened, police said.
Locklear told investigators he reached down in the car to retrieve some papers, accidentally activating the flashing lights.
Locklear was on medical leave when the wreck happened.
He served as Raeford’s police chief from January 2004 until December 2007 when he was fired after being charged with assaulted his then-estranged wife.
The charges, all misdemeanors, were dismissed in Hoke County District Court.
Locklear went to work at the Red Springs Police Department in 2009, Bennett said.
In 2011, the State Bureau of Investigation was called in by Raeford police to investigate the fatal shooting of Locklear’s fiancee.
Amanda Graham Barker, 29, was shot in the head with Locklear’s service revolver. The two were alone in the house at the time and Locklear called 911, saying Barker had shot herself.
Copyright 2016 The Fayetteville Observer