CAYCE, S.C. — The City of Cayce announced on Wednesday afternoon, July 3, Cayce Police Chief Chris Cowan will be stepping down from his position to join the staff at University of South Carolina's Joseph F Rice School of Law.
Cowan had been chief in Cayce since October 4, 2021, after serving with the Richland County Sheriff's Department. In a prepared statement, Cowan, a 30+ law enforcement veteran said, “I love our Cayce team and am proud of the new initiatives we have built. I am thankful for the people of Cayce we serve and have enjoyed being a part of this great community. The position at the University is the right opportunity for me and for my family. But I look forward to working with City leaders, our department staff, and our community to see our upcoming events and initiatives come to fruition.”
Mayor Elise Partin said, “We all knew Chief Cowan would only be with us in Cayce for a short time. We are thankful for the impact he made while he was with us: Helping us transition from the Public Safety model to an individual Police Department, all while working with citizens to create safe driving initiatives, furthering dialogues, and connections we have built and creating successes and systems that have an average 2 minute 9 second response time for emergencies. We look forward to continuing to support the women and men of our Police Department as we build upon these successes.”
Cowan will be leaving the job in two weeks. An Interim Chief of Police will be named at a later date by Cayce City Manager Tracy Hegler.