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Chief Kareem Easley is the new leader of the Tuskegee University Police Department. Bringing more than 20 years of local, county and state experience to the job, Easley is especially focused on increasing proactive collaboration between his department, university faculty, staff and students, and citizens who live in and visit Tuskegee.
“I’m honored to serve this historic university,” said Easley. “My top priority is to ensure that all students, faculty, staff, and visitors to our campus are safe. I’m ready to go!”
Easley is actively recruiting to grow his team and preparing recommendations for new training for the department. He also has an eye on upcoming and longer-term opportunities on campus and in the community to deepen relationships between the department and the people they serve and protect.
“We can’t do this alone,” he says, noting that all evidence points to the power of community policing as a proven strategy to reduce crime. “It will be a collaborative effort that involves the entire community – we will rely on support, input and insight from students, staff, faculty and the community.”
When recalling what led him to law enforcement, Easley says his father was at one time a state trooper, so he grew up with a Trooper car in the backyard and learned a lot about that world, but that his career choice had more to do with his mother’s upbringing, which was both strict and loving.
“I knew that it was important to be a productive citizen, but also just as important to be kind and have a heart for people,” he said. “Helping was innate to me,” he said.
Easley firmly believes that empathy is a powerful tool when it comes to the role of law enforcement.
“I encounter everyone with respect and dignity, whether I am helping a stranded driver who has run out of gas or responding to take someone into custody,” said the Birmingham native.
Easley earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Alabama and began his law enforcement career with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. He later joined the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole as a Probation Officer. During this tenure, he provided oversight of 130 offenders and administered rehabilitation processes to facilitate their productive transition back into society.
Easley’s experience also includes work as an Anti-Money Laundering Investigator with Regions Bank in Birmingham and tenure with the Birmingham Police Department (BPD) where he held leadership roles, including service on the Birmingham Mayor’s Executive Protection Detail and as a recruiter for the department. Easley rose to the rank of Sergeant with BPD and was chosen to lead a specialized task force, which was responsible for the removal of more than 1,200 unlawful guns from the streets of Birmingham in one year. Most recently, Easley served as Chief of Police at Trenholm Community College in Montgomery.
Chief Easley is a member of the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police and has completed Level I of the Certified Law Enforcement Executive Program (CLEEP), one of the most comprehensive executive leadership programs for law enforcement professionals in Alabama. Easley has been recognized as a facilitator for the National Black Police Association and received the Presidential Citation for Exemplary Service. He is also certified as a National Instructor of Procedural Justice.
“Tuskegee University welcomes Chief Easley to the team,” said Dr. Mark A. Brown, president and CEO. “We remain focused on striking the correct balance between security and college life. That balance is found in a community policing approach, which requires mature leadership and well-reasoned decisions. In Chief Easley, we have a proven performer with the traits necessary to meet the challenges ahead. His leadership and experience will serve students, faculty, and staff well in our efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of all who join us on campus.”
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