Major Mitchell Brown was named acting chief when Frederick Heineman retired, until a permanent choice could be made. He was head of the Administration Division, having been with the Raleigh Police Department for 22 years. Although the City Manager wanted to choose a new Chief as soon as possible, he had 156 applications to look through, including four from within the department. Mitch Brown was a local, one of 11 children. One brother, David, served as a detective in the department. After serving in Vietnam, Brown returned to Raleigh and joined the police. He was named Patrolman of the Year in 1974. In 1990, he became the first black officer to be promoted to major.
On March 24, 1994, Mitchell Brown was named Chief, the first black officer to hold that position. Officers and the greater public alike seemed to be pleased with his appointment. When asked what he would do as the new head of police, Brown said that he felt the department was doing the right things, and just needed fine-tuning. He wanted to focus on causes of crime, citing interest in setting up mini-stations in two public housing complexes. Many local leaders hoped he would improve relationships with the black community and serve as a role model for its youth.
Chief Brown made a number of changes in the department, seeking to increase efficiency and officers’ safety. In January of 1996, the department began to outfit patrol cars with portable computers in addition to their radios. Increasing traffic lead Chief Brown to form a Traffic Enforcement Unit, which would work with state highway officers to make the roads safer. It would consist of seven officers in cars and three on motorcycles. In August of 1996, he formed an additional seven-member motorcycle unit, created to patrol areas with high numbers of speeders reported.
Chief Brown also worked to connect better with the community through the use of a Student Police Academy summer camp. In July of 1997, children from 11-15 were introduced to the training that police undergo, as well as various kinds of investigation and criminal law procedures. They even went on ride-alongs.
The Raleigh Police Department was reorganized beginning in November of 1998, the first major change in 12 years. As part of the new structure, 42 patrol beats would be divided among six sectors, reporting to five stations. (It has previous been divided into five sectors and 35 beats.) This allowed beats to be smaller, and therefore take potentially less time to patrol. The reorganization also introduced the rank of corporal, equivalent to detective, but offering a different career advancement path. In December of 1998, the Raleigh Police Academy graduated its largest class to day, at 58 new officers. The department was still operating with an officer shortage of 43, even with the newly-graduated.
Chief Brown stepped down on December 1, 2000. In a statement, he gave no specific reason for his departure, only saying he hoped to spend more time with his wife and sons.