Hamlet city manager moving forward in hiring process
By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
The number of finalists being considered for the position of Hamlet police chief is five, and interim chief Capt. Rodney Tucker isn’t among them.
That is at least in part due to his recent resignation. Tucker, who oversees the investigations unit, was appointed on May 21 to temporarily fill in for the retiring Chief Amery Griffin. He said then he had applied for the permanent position of chief. Prior to joining the Hamlet police force in early 2013, Tucker spent four years with the Laurinburg Police Department and nearly 12 years with the Scotland County Sheriff’s Office.
It’s reported that Tucker, who did not immediately respond to an email inquiry to comment for this story, is returning to Scotland County to work for Sheriff-elect Ralph Kersey.
City Manager Marcus Abernethy said Thursday Tucker’s resignation won’t slow down the selection process.
“We’ve made some major headway” towards choosing a new police chief, Abernethy said.
Abernethy said that next week, he will oversee a day-long assessment center that will put the five finalists through three job-related scenarios. Each finalist will be evaluated by a total of nine assessors.
“He will be deeply missed,” said Abernethy, was was appointed to his position on Oct. 14. “We wish him the best of luck.”
Those five finalists were selected from a total of 20 applicants, said Edna Cumberland, the city’s human resources director. Of the 20 applicants, 12 reside within North Carolina and eight are from out of state.
The new chief will have a number of vacancies to fill due to recent resignations other than Tucker’s.