Police chief to step down in 2021
Hampton Police Chief Terry Sult announced Wednesday he plans to retire within the next year.
“It is with extremely mixed emotions that I announce the intent to retire,” Sult said in a video shared with the police division. “I have been involved with policing over 50 years and I’m going to have to figure out what to do now that I’m grown up.”
He said he will remain involved with policing at some level, possibly consulting, but will not be going to another department.
Sult said the reason he’s announcing his retirement so far in advance is that he’ll play a role in finding his replacement, which is expected to take about six months to a year.
He said he’s been working with the city manager’s office for the past couple of weeks to plan for a smooth transition.
The first step to finding his replacement will be a survey focused on the environment inside the police department and the challenges of policing and how to make officers’ lives better. The survey will ask questions like what are three things the organization does well and what are three things that could be improved on.
Officers will be asked about their preferences for the next police chief — an internal or an external candidate, and important character attributes. The survey is going to be anonymous, Sult said.
City Manager Mary Bunting said at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting that she will announce the next steps after reviewing survey results. She said she will likely bring in an executive search firm.
“Once you’ve been with the HPD, you’re always part of the HPD family, and I feel the same way,” Sult said. “I love each and every officer in this organiza
tion and each and every civilian that supports the operations in the field.”
This year marked Sult’s 50th in law enforcement. Before joining the Hampton Police Division in October 2013, he worked in North Carolina in Charlotte and Gastonia, as well as Sandy Springs, Ga.
Bunting praised Sult for increasing the use of technology in the division and improving equipment for the application of technology, including “our real-time information center.”
Mayor Donnie Tuck also praised Sult’s use of technology and community engagement, saying he joined the department at the right time.