Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe said Monday he might go back to college or even voluntarily give up his Virginia Commonwealth University degree to address a continuing controversy over his higher education.

City Manager Curt Walton and Monroe held a news conference to address questions about the validity of the chief's degree.

Monroe, at times emotional, told the story of how he obtained his degree and how much achievement meant to him, as the father of college-aged children.

“I find it quite disturbing to allow this matter to divide this community or this department,” said Monroe, who became Charlotte's chief in June. “I will accept responsibility for moving us forward by exploring various options for removing elements of this back-and-forth debate.”

Monroe wouldn't give a timetable or specifics about how he planned to resolve the controversy. He said there are a range of options he would discuss with his family.

Walton told City Council members earlier Monday that Monroe is looking at ways to obtain a degree “free from question and controversy.”

Walton said regardless of how the issue plays out, Monroe would remain the chief and that the city would give him whatever time he needs to possess an unquestioned degree. A college degree is required to be Charlotte's police chief.

The controversy has developed as the city faces rising concerns over neighborhood and property crime. City leaders have shown support for Monroe, who has already put more police on the street as he reorganizes the department, he says, to become more effective.

About half of the 150 people who attended Monday's news conference were police officers dressed in blue. At times, Monroe held back tears as his voice wavered, moved by his officers' show of support, he said.

Monroe chronicled his quest, spurred by his two college-aged children, to earn a degree. As chief in Richmond, he worked on a degree online from the University of Phoenix and was nine credits short of a bachelor's degree when he began talking to VCU officials about two joint educational programs with his department.

“VCU contacted me about the possibility of attending the university and completing my degree there. I thought it was a good idea to continue my studies locally.”

Monroe, who already had 122 credit hours from other institutions, completed six credit hours at VCU and was awarded a degree in interdisciplinary studies last year.

But questions arose months later when a whistleblower alleged the degree was improper because Monroe did not complete enough coursework at VCU for a transfer student. Two Virginia investigations found the degree was improperly awarded, but neither assigned blame to the chief.

The investigations concluded that Monroe had received special treatment but didn't say why VCU officials pushed through his degree. Several university employees, however, were disciplined.

The reports failed to satisfy some Virginia lawmakers, who last week asked the university to investigate whether it can legally revoke the degree.

VCU has allowed the chief to keep the degree. The university's policy allows revocation only in cases of academic misconduct.

On Friday, the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement saying Monroe's integrity was at stake and that Charlotte leaders needed to review the issue. The FOP has about 1,600 city, county and federal law enforcement members in Mecklenburg County and is the largest law enforcement organization in the state.

“Everybody's integrity is at stake when you get right down to it,” Randy Hagler, local FOP president, said Monday. He said officers are increasingly concerned the department could be tainted and that Monroe's educational qualifications were too “cloudy.”

Monroe acknowledged Monday that he'd received special treatment but says he didn't realize it at the time. He again reiterated he was following the instructions of a VCU official about what he needed to do to complete the degree: “I did what I was told….”

At the end of Monday's news conference, most in the room stood and applauded as Monroe slowly walked out, shaking hands and stopping to talk to the rank-and-file.

Neighbors for a Safer Charlotte spokesman David Romero was among the crowd. He said he is impressed with Monroe and doesn't care about the degree.

“They can fix internal police issues,” Romero said. “We want action on the street, and he's hit the ground running.”