Joey Reynolds retiring after nearly 5-year run as Bluffton’s police chief

Bluffton Police Chief Joey Reynolds is retiring from the department at the end of June after nearly five years in the position, town officials confirmed Wednesday.

Reynolds, 60, submitted a letter “within the past few days” to town manager Marc Orlando announcing his intention to retire, Police Department spokeswoman Joy Nelson told The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette when initially contacted Wednesday afternoon.

Reynolds’ last day will be June 30. He became Bluffton’s police chief in September 2012.

Reynolds’ annual salary is $118,059.

Reynolds, who spent years working in North Carolina, said he intends to move to a job in the private sector to be closer to his family, Mayor Lisa Sulka said Wednesday afternoon when contacted by the newspapers, though she couldn’t immediately provide more details.

Reynolds has worked in law enforcement over the past 40 years and also has served on the FBI National Academy Associates executive board since 2010. He has served as president of the police training organization since last summer.

“It’s hard to walk away from (law enforcement), but at the same time, it’s time for me to move on to other opportunities and focus on my family,” Reynolds said in a prepared statement. He did not immediately respond to multiple requests by the newspapers for comment.

Debbie Szpanka, Bluffton’s public information officer, said Wednesday she didn’t know who would take over as interim chief in Reynolds’ absence, nor could she provide details about the search to replace Reynolds.

Orlando did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment regarding the hiring search.

Reynolds began his law enforcement career in 1977 as a dispatcher in Sumter County. He worked for 19 years with the state of North Carolina’s alcohol administrative and enforcement operations and served as police chief in Lenoir, N.C., for eight years. He also worked in private security in North Carolina in 2012 before he was hired as the Bluffton police chief.

This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Joey Reynolds retiring after nearly 5-year run as Bluffton’s police chief."