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Columbus Public Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. retires

After working for the City of Columbus for 40 years, Public Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. has retired.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After working for the City of Columbus for 40 years, Public Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. retired on Wednesday.

Pettus announced his retirement in July.

Pettus spent 35 years with the Columbus Division of Fire. He rose through the ranks and became the city's first African American Fire Chief in 2002.

On Aug. 1, 2016, Mayor Andrew Ginther appointed Pettus to public safety director.

In the five years since, Pettus oversaw several changes in public safety including body-worn cameras for Columbus police officers and the installation of the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system in four Columbus neighborhoods.

“Director Pettus has been a guiding force in the effort to strengthen and improve our city’s most essential services,” Ginther said in July. “He has implemented changes and reforms that resulted in safety forces that better reflect and serve our community. I am grateful for his leadership and decades of dedication.”

Pettus graduated from Linden McKinley High School and obtained a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems from the Fielding Graduate University in California.

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