Rocky Mount police report drops in most crimes but homicides rise from six to 16

Chief McCoy, Rocky Mount’s police chief, told the city council work session that year‑to‑date Part‑1 crime is down overall but homicides have risen. “In 2024, we only had six homicides,” he said. “In 2025, we did in fact have 16.”

City officials and the chief framed the broader trend as mostly positive: Chief McCoy reported a roughly 14% overall decrease in Part‑1 offenses, with declines in several property‑crime categories and a fall in traffic stops following redeployment of the traffic unit. He attributed many declines to “proactive” and “data‑driven” policing and to partnerships with county, state and federal agencies.

The chief said the department is bolstering homicide investigations through interagency cooperation. “We are serving search warrants together. We’re working special details together. We’re sharing resources amongst ourselves,” he said, describing closer ties with Nash County and Edgecombe County and with state and federal partners. He also said the department rolled out a Community Action Team (CAT) on Nov. 8 to focus on violent crime and suspected gang activity.

Council members asked for specifics about investigations and recent enforcement operations. Chief McCoy described a Jan. 9 operation conducted with the State Bureau of Investigation and Nash County that he said produced a large seizure and led to charges against a 51‑year‑old identified in the briefing as John Johnson. Per the chief’s account, the search warrants yielded “13,000 doses [of heroin], 48.25 grams of cocaine, [and] 500 individual doses of a Knox’s, which is a derivative of heroin,” and Johnson was charged with multiple trafficking counts and weapons offenses. The article notes those counts and quantities are reported by the chief in the meeting transcript.

Officials also discussed workload: when asked to extrapolate quarterly call data, Chief McCoy estimated the department responds to on the order of 100,000–112,000 calls per year. He described ongoing efforts to improve reentry access and victim assistance: the department refers people to local reentry programs (Tri‑County and other partners) and is preparing a packet to distribute at the time of request or offense to help residents access services.

The chief described the department’s technology investments and forensic tools. Rocky Mount began using ShotSpotter technology in 2011, he said; more recently the department added a resource‑router tool to direct supervisors and has expanded a Flock camera program that the chief said includes more than 320 cameras and partnerships with over 328 businesses. He also described shell‑casing forensic analysis used to match weapons across incidents.

Council members pressed on traffic complaints and camera coverage at specific intersections (Sunset and Winstead); the chief said there are two cameras at that intersection and that cameras are typically reviewed in the aftermath of crashes. On officer morale and recruitment, the chief said command staff make regular personal contact with personnel and the department is working with private partners to add incentives and recruit new officers.

Near the end of the session, the council moved toward a closed session for personnel and attorney‑client matters. A motion was made and seconded and a voice vote was called; the transcript ends before a recorded tally or formal announcement of the outcome.

What happens next: the department is continuing homicide investigations with partner agencies and the CAT unit in operation; council members requested follow‑up on reentry resources and monitoring of intersection camera coverage.