FOREST ACRES, S.C. — After 48 years with the Forest Acres Police Department and 27 years as chief, Gene Sealy is hanging up his badge.
After announcing his retirement, the chief sat down and talked about his time at the department and the legacy he leaves behind.
"I've always looked at my job as one of being a public servant," said Chief Sealy. In 1974, Sealy started a job as a part-time dispatcher at FAPD, little did he know how much he would end up dedicating to that agency, "I started out what was going to be a summer job for me working on the radio turned into a career – which I didn't even think I was going to be a police officer."
After holding multiple roles in the department, Sealy was appointed Chief in 1994.
"The highlights to me are the work that our department does in the community and just the relationships that we have with our residents. To me, that's been very rewarding," says Sealy, "and that may sound silly to some but it's like home. Your neighbors are your friends."
Twenty-seven years accounts for many good times as well as bad.
The chief was around for the first FAPD officer death, Richey Finch in 1974 and the second, Greg Alia in 2015.
"Greg was killed on September the 30th in 2015 and unfortunately the day of his funeral was a Saturday, October 4th, we had these heavy rains that were coming into the state and they never stopped," Chief Sealy explains, "and that's when the big flood came- the 1,000 Year Flood, so we had that sort of back to back."
Through the department's ups and downs, Sealy says the community has always been there for them.
"We're here to serve the residents of our community and that's what our job is- it's one of service," the chief continues, "and I hope that they will continue that, that would be a legacy I would appreciate. It's not always going to be easy, some people aren't easy to deal with sometimes but you know, but a smile and a 'thank you' goes a long way when you're talking to other folks. Because we see people a lot of times in their worst and they're looking for help and that's what we're here to try and do."
Chief Sealy says he will step down at the beginning of January 2022.
