Bluffton Police names interim chief as Chapmond’s tenure nears end. Here’s who it is
As Bluffton Police Chief Chris Chapmond plans his departure, Capt. Scott Chandler has been tapped as the interim chief for the second time in about as many years.
Chandler previously served as the department’s interim chief in the spring and summer of 2018 leading up to Chapmond’s hire. He was a lieutenant at the time and has since been promoted to captain.
Chandler joined Bluffton Police in 2006 and has risen through the ranks, serving as a patrol sergeant, traffic unit sergeant, neighborhood services unit sergeant, investigations lieutenant, and patrol lieutenant, among other duties. Before coming to the Lowcountry, he’d worked for the Akron Police Department in Ohio.
“Capt. Chandler did a great job the last time he was interim chief and he’s really plugged in with the department and town,” Town Manger Marc Orlando said Thursday. Orlando added that Capt. Joseph Babkiewicz will also be taking on more responsibility during the search for the next chief.
“I know both of them will stand tall,” he said.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after Chapmond accepted the police chief job with his former department in Hot Springs, Ark. He has said he wasn’t actively searching for a job when the opportunity opened up, but it was a chance for him to return home.
He worked in Hot Springs for more than two decades, including as assistant chief of police, before coming to Bluffton for 22 months.
Chapmond will start in Hot Springs on July 1.
The Bluffton Police chief job opening has already been posted by the town.
Orlando, who is also responsible for appointing the police chief, said the interview process to hire Chapmond’s replacement will “closely mirror” steps taken the last time around. Those steps included interviews with him, a citizens panel, the mayor, town attorney, and Town Council.
In 2018, the hiring process also included a tour of Bluffton and a public forum, but Orlando said he is not certain if the public forum will be included again due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the town will conduct a national search, just as it did in 2018 when it received 63 applicants from more than 20 states.
