Former Hampton police chief comes out of retirement for job in North Carolina

Former Hampton Police Chief Terry Sult isn’t finished in law enforcement.

Sult, who retired from the Hampton Police Division in April 2021, was recently named chief of the Cary Police Department in North Carolina.

Sult has spent more than 40 years in law enforcement. He took charge of the Hampton Police Division in 2013 after serving as chief in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and Gastonia, North Carolina, following a 27-year career with the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department.

Shortly before his retirement, Sult told the Daily Press he planned to work part-time consulting with his son, a cybersecurity expert. But by October, he was serving as interim police chief for the Cary department. Cary is about 12 miles west of Raleigh and has a population of roughly 175,000.

Cary Town Manager Sean Stegall said that when Sult accepted the interim position there was no expectation that it would turn into anything more.

“When we hired Terry 8 months ago as our interim chief, both he and we were certain that being interim would be the end of our relationship,” Stegall wrote in a message to the town council.

He went on to write, “Terry learned firsthand who we are and the remarkable community we serve, and so he asked to compete for the full-time position. He wanted it so much that he’s coming out of retirement to have this experience, and we couldn’t be happier or more grateful.”

WRAL, a local North Carolina NBC affiliate, reported that Sult will receive a $225,000 salary.

Sult’s successor in Hampton — Mark Talbot — is nearing the end of his first year as chief.

Jessica Nolte, 757-912-1675, jnolte@dailypress.com