Rhodes turns down Hartsville police chief job
Posted by jimfaile on 05/12 at 12:46 PM
The woman who was to become Hartsville’s new police chief in June told city officials Tuesday that she cannot take the job.
Capt. Saundra Rhodes of the Horry County Police Department told Hartsville City Manager Natalie Zeigler that she is turning down the position because of family responsibilities, Zeigler said.
“She said her father is very sick and she needs to stay with him. He didn’t want to move to Hartsville,” Zeigler said.
Zeigler said Rhodes informed her of her decision during a private meeting between the two on Tuesday afternoon in Hartsville.
Zeigler said she will return to the original pool of applicants for the position to resume the search for a new police chief. She said she hopes she can name a chief in about a week.
Hartsville Mayor Mel Pennington said he was surprised by the decision but understood Rhodes’ reasons. “Family comes first, and I understand that,” he said. “You only get the chance to have parents once.”
Pennington said Zeigler told members of Hartsville City Council and the police department of Rhodes’ decision shortly after her meeting with Rhodes.
He said he was disappointed but confident the city will find the right person for the position. “Everybody liked her and she certainly was qualified for the job,” he said.
“I am truly disappointed about having to rescind my acceptance of the position,” Rhodes said in a statement sent via e-mail to The Messenger on Thursday. “In the short amount of time I have spent in the city of Hartsville, and particularly with the employees of the police department, I have found that it is an absolutely professional agency with some very capable officers and that whomever is now chosen to be the chief should count their blessings that they have such quality men and women to work with.”
Rhodes, whose father lives with her in Conway, said that her father, after previous moves and with his health condition, did not want to make another move. She said that while she initially thought she might be able to continue to provide for his care in Conway while working as police chief in Hartsville, in recent weeks she realized that was not feasible because of the time demands.
She said she believes it would be unfair to her father and uproot him again at this point and move him to a city where he has no old friends or family to connect with. And she said it would also be unfair to the city of Hartsville and to the police department to take the position under circumstances that would not allow her to devote her full time and attention to the job.
“Hartsville is a beautiful city and everyone that I encountered . . . made me feel welcomed,” Rhodes said. “I am truly saddened by the fact that I will miss the opportunity to be a part of the community there, but I know that my time with my father is limited, and I would be even more saddened if I felt that in moving forward with my career I would be neglecting his needs.”
Rhodes also expressed appreciation to the city manager and the mayor. “I want to thank Mrs. Zeigler and Mayor Pennington for their patience and understanding of my situation. I was truly looking forward to working with Mrs. Zeigler; her progressiveness and professionalism was something that I was hoping to build upon at the Hartsville Police Department.”
Rhodes would have become Hartsville’s first female police chief. City officials announced Rhodes’ hiring on April 5 in a press conference. She was one of three finalists for the position.
Rhodes has been with the Horry County Police Department since 1993.
She has visited Hartsville several times since the announcement of her hiring and has attended at least two city council meetings since then.
Rhodes had been scheduled to assume her duties as chief on June 6 to give her son a chance to finish up the school year in Horry County.
The job became vacant with the retirement in February of former Police Chief Tim Kemp after nearly nine years as chief. Kemp was with the department for 28 years.
Forty-one people applied for the position after Kemp’s departure.
Chief Deputy Jerry Thompson of the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office is currently serving as interim police chief until a new chief takes office.