HAMLET — Hamlet Police Chief Scott Waters this morning told his department he plans to retire in March after nearly 30 years of service to the city.
Waters’ retirement will be effective on March 29. He said in statement that he will continue to be a supporter of the City of Hamlet, its citizens and the Hamlet Police Department in retirement “just as I always have been.”
“I am humbled and blessed to be part of the Hamlet Family and I appreciate the great honor of being able to protect and serve the public,” Waters said. “I have been blessed and honored to spend my entire career here in Hamlet.”
Waters started his law enforcement career at HPD in 1991 as a patrol officer and moved through the ranks, serving as shift sergeant, school resource officer at Hamlet Junior High, detective sergeant, detective lieutenant, detective captain and patrol captain before being promoted to chief in 2014.
Hamlet will advertise the open position, both internally and externally, in the coming weeks, according to City Manager Jonathan Blanton. Blanton said ideally a new chief would be in place within four to six weeks to keep the city from having to install an interim chief.
Captain Randy Dover said he wasn’t expecting Waters to retire but knew it had been on his mind.
“It has been a true pleasure working for him. He truly loves Hamlet and the Hamlet Police Department,” Dover said in a text. “He will be sorely missed.”
Dover added that any time there was a major crime, Waters would stay with “his guys” the whole time and was a strong advocate for getting his officers more training so they could better serve their community.
“He’s just a good chief and I hate to see him go,” Dover said.
Blanton said Wednesday that Waters mentioned retirement following the birth of his granddaughter.
“It’s disappointing to lose (Waters); he’s certainly been very helpful to me as city manager,” Blanton said. “I’ve seen him work long hours, more than what anyone would expect from a police chief.”
Mayor Bill Bayless, who has known Waters for about 20 years, said the decision to retire was Waters’ alone and wished him well.
“I think he’s done a tremendous job and I just wish him the best in retirement,” Bayless said.