McNeill retires from Patrol

After 27 years with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Col. Glenn McNeill used the code 10-42 for the last time on a radio dispatch system.

Among his fellow colleagues in law enforcement, the code means “Ending Tour of Duty.” With close to three decades of service, McNeill recently retired as the commander for the NCSHP. He was honored with a special ceremony in March.

“Once a North Carolina State Trooper, always a North Carolina State Trooper,” he said. “I’m excited about the future of our organization. We have outstanding and brave men and women who do outstanding work each and every day.”

During his years with the highway patrol and climbing through the ranks, McNeill gained a lot of friends throughout the state. One of them was Garland Mayor Winifred Murphy. She worked with his mother, Ethel McNeill, was was brutally murdered about 40 years ago. The killer was never captured. McNeill was an employee of Reidsville City School.

“I am so proud of the young son of my friend and co-worker Ethel Johnson McNeill …,” Murphy said in a public post about her days as an educator. “Thank you for your service commander. On behalf of The Town of Garland, blessings to you and your family.”

After being sworn-in as the 27th commander following an announcement from Gov. Roy Cooper in 2017, McNeill received a call from Murphy. On the night his mother was killed, Murphy and the late McNeill walked out of the building together after the workday. She shared the impact of their friendship with his mother.

“She always wanted to reach out and talk with me and my siblings,” he said. “If I wouldn’t have received that appointment, she wouldn’t have a way to reach out and connect with me. We maintained a close friendship and relationship since that time,” McNeill said.

A candle-lighting ceremony for his mother started his retirement ceremony. The unsolved murder, inspired McNeill to pursue a career in law enforcement. For many years, McNeill experienced many special occasions such as birthdays and holidays without his beloved mother.

“Those were always difficult times for me,” he said.

He grew up in Reidsville and after graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Army as a military policeman. After gaining several years of law enforcement experience, he became a trooper for the highway patrol. He began November 1993 and continued until April 2021. McNeill is a graduate of Mount Olive College, where he earned a degree in business management and organizational development. He also graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2015.

During his years with the highway patrol, McNeill was always trying to make a difference through public safety services.

“I always felt like me and my family was deprived,” he said. “One of our loved ones was taken from us. Going into law enforcement, it felt like I was making a difference, each and every day trying to keep people safe. By working as trooper, it gave me the opportunity to give back something that I myself wasn’t able to secure in the form of justice, regarding my mother’s death.”

McNeill is married to his wife Thevesa. Together, they have a son, Logan, and twin daughters,, Morgan and McKenzie. Now that he’s retired, McNeill is looking forward to spending more time with family — making them the main priority.

“Being a state trooper, you have to sacrifice a great deal and your family has to sacrifice a great deal, serving in this capacity,” he said. “If there’s a critical incident, man-made or if it’s a natural disaster anywhere in the state, state troopers are called to go into harms way and leave their families.”

Officials from the NCSHP saluted McNeill for his service at the ceremony and on social media posts.

“And in his famous words, we extend to him and his family “much love and blessings” as he enjoys a well-deserved retirement,” the department stated.