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SBI Director Collier to retire, citing personal reasons

The first director of the State Bureau of Investigation since the North Carolina crime investigation agency moved to a Cabinet-level department is stepping down April 1.

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B.W. Collier, acting SBI director
RALEIGH, N.C. — The first director of the State Bureau of Investigation since the North Carolina crime investigation agency moved to a cabinet-level department is stepping down April 1.

SBI Director B.W. Collier announced Tuesday he was retiring, citing personal reasons. A news release says Collier needs more time to devote to his family. No other details were given.

"I am very pleased with the path the SBI is on and have great confidence in the current agency leadership," Collier said in a statement.

Collier is a longtime SBI agent and was director of Alcohol Law Enforcement when McCrory appointed him to become acting director in August 2014. That occurred when the legislature shifted the SBI from under Attorney General Roy Cooper to McCrory's Department of Public Safety.

McCrory later appointed Collier as the permanent director for an eight-year term. The legislature confirmed that appointment. The governor is supposed to nominate Collier's successor.

"North Carolina is fortunate and grateful to have benefited from Director Collier’s leadership and service to the state, which has spanned nearly his entire professional career," McCrory said in a statement. "He is the personification of dedicated and selfless public service."

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