Former Bluffton police chief takes over as interim leader in Beaufort department
Following news of his retirement in December, Beaufort Chief of Police and department veteran Dale McDormand passed on the torch Monday morning to his second-in-command, Stephenie Price.
Price will serve as interim chief while the city conducts a search for McDormand’s replacement. McDormand, who worked with the department for 29 years and became chief in 2020, will retire effective Friday.
It was not immediately clear how the city planned to fill the now-vacant position of deputy chief.
She joined the department as deputy chief in early 2023 after resigning as Bluffton’s chief of police the previous summer. Before then, Price served as assistant chief of police at the Savannah Police Department. She began her law enforcement career in Kansas City, joining that department as a patrol officer and working her way up to internal affairs, drug enforcement and the training division.
Ended by a sudden resignation in August 2022, Price’s two-year tenure as the head of the Bluffton Police Department was marked by controversy. Over a quarter of the agency’s officers resigned in the 13 months after she took over, some citing toxic leadership or a lack of transparency, although Price attributed the trend to COVID-19 and a national climate of law enforcement hardship. She touted a number of initiatives she started to increase retention, such as free gym memberships and an officer sabbatical program.
In her time as Bluffton’s chief, Price focused on mental health in the community and created a mental health advocate position, making Bluffton one of the few departments in the area to have such a position.
Price could not immediately be reached for additional information by phone Monday afternoon.
This story was originally published January 22, 2024 at 2:47 PM.
