Bluffton’s police chief applied for a job at his former department. Here’s what we know
Bluffton could soon be looking for its fourth police chief in four years.
After less than two years on the job, Bluffton Police Chief Chris Chapmond has applied for the chief position at his former department in Hot Springs, Arkansas, he confirmed Monday.
“I can confirm that I did apply for the position,” he said in a phone interview. “The position has not closed yet, so I don’t have a whole lot to say.”
Chapmond said he was not actively looking for a job when the Hot Springs position became available.
The Hot Springs Police Department in Arkansas, where Chapmond worked as assistant chief before coming to Bluffton, posted a job opening for chief on April 17. Applications are being accepted through May 1, according to the posting.
Last week when asked by a reporter whether he was applying for the job, Chapmond confirmed he was aware of the opening but said he had not decided and was still “wrapping (his) head around it.”
Chapmond had been with the Hot Springs Police Department since 1996.
The Hot Springs Police Department has nearly 150 officers, whereas Bluffton is about the third of that size.
Chapmond, who was hired in Bluffton in July 2018 following a two-month interview process, was chosen from 63 applicants.
During his interview process, when Chapmond was named one of the top two candidates, Chapmond said if he were offered the position, he’d commit to being chief for an extended amount of time.
He was sworn in Sept. 1, 2018, with a starting salary of $106,000, the same starting salary as the chief before him, according to an August 2018 email from deputy town manager Scott Marshall.
Early on, Chapmond promised to build trust within the community and vowed to be transparent. Within three months of being sworn in, he created a new hiring policy and launched a large recruitment effort to hire more officers while using higher standards and denying jobs to applicants justifiably fired from other departments — a problem the department had faced in the past.
Among the highlights of his time as chief: He expanded the department’s arresting powers on nearby waterways, saw BPD recognized by the S.C. Department of Public Safety as Agency of the Year for its 2018 DUI enforcement, and has been involved in the community, including dressing up as Captain America for Halloween, reading to students, and playing basketball with local kids.
There were also moments of controversy, such as in February 2019 Bluffton Police arrested one of its own officers after a bowling alley brawl. The officer later resigned; the charge against him was dismissed. The department was criticized for lax disciplined of an officer who showed a pattern of smashing car windows and engaging in dangerous pursuits. Most recently in January 2020, the chief fired an officer after receiving a citizen complaint that the officer had “sexual relations with someone he had arrested/transported.”
Previous Bluffton Police chiefs
The two chiefs who led the department before Chapmond both left amid controversy.
Joey Reynolds served as Bluffton’s chief from September 2012 until he retired in July 2017. During his tenure, the department was criticized over several issues, including overtime bills, officers accused of drinking on duty, and an officer making an improper arrest outside of the town’s jurisdiction.
Reynolds’ retirement came as The Island Packet was questioning the department about his extensive paid absences.
Joseph Manning was serving as deputy chief when he was promoted to chief the same month Reynolds left. He served as chief for only nine months, leaving the position in May 2018 to take a job as police chief in at the Sevierville Police Department in Tennessee, where he still works.
The town did not post the chief position publicly following Reynolds’ retirement, Bluffton town manager Marc Orlando previously said. At the time, Orlando said no other candidates were considered for the position.
The hiring process following Manning’s departure — when Chapmond applied — included screening of applications, multiple interviews with town leaders and a citizen panel, a public forum where the top two candidates answered questions from residents, and a tour of Bluffton.
