Local Hospitality

Local Hospitality

UNCC police chief who Posed for Playboy resigns The police chief at UNCC – who had once appeared in Playboy and went through past issues of certification – has resigned, UNCC officials told WBTV exclusively on Tuesday.

Marlene Hall resigned her position as police chief and director of police and public safety on June 11, officials said. UNC Charlotte is determining the effective date of her resignation pending tabulation of sick leave balance.

In the meantime, she has been reassigned to other duties, reporting to Henry James, associate vice chancellor for risk, management, safety and security, officials said.

Hall joined UNC Charlotte in March 2006. In late 2006, WBTV's Steve Crump did a story about Hall's past – and the fact that she had appeared in a Playboy pictorial in the early 1980s.

Issues of her certification also came up during the story in 2006. Crump's story indicated that she was apparently on the job for UNCC for several months and had not been certified to run the police department.

At the time, the Attorney General's Office told WBTV that Hall had not applied for certification. After WBTV's story, the university took away her badge, gun and blue lights until she was eventually retrained and certified.

Major Jeff Baker has assumed the role of interim chief effective immediately, UNCC said.

Baker, a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department captain, joined UNC Charlotte in November, 2009 as deputy director, reporting to Hall. He oversees the daily management of police operations and support units. A decorated officer, Baker served CMPD for 29 years and received the Police Medal of Merit in 1984 for saving the life of a fellow officer.

UNC Charlotte will commence a search for a permanent replacement for Hall.