CAMDEN, S.C. — The Camden Police Department has seen several changes in leadership since the beginning of the year with the retirement of Chief Joe Floyd, followed by the departure of who would've been the interim chief of police, Capt. Tom Borowski.
Now, the new leadership has arrived.
"It was an unexpected opportunity," said Interim Police Chief Darren Norris.
Norris' first day on the job was January 28.
"I started out a little over 27 years ago down in Orangeburg County area, segued over to Aiken County to the Sheriff's office because I do private consulting," Norris said. "I made the decision to go to a smaller agency and work with Chief Garner and Crider in Pelion, and then I retired from there and recently had went back to Springfield, and then I got the call to discuss this opportunity, and here I am."
He then worked with several different agencies across the state until he retired, but now he's back for the time being.
"I'm gonna try to build on the legacy that was here with Chief Floyd with, you know, 50 years in law enforcement, it's a wow."
While he's here, Norris says his main focus is to make sure no one leaves.
"I plan to put a strategic management plan in place for the agency to move forward, but one of the primary focuses is going to be on the people, the men and women here in the agency, not only recruiting but also retention," Norris said. "Sometimes retention gets put to the wayside, and I don't want to lose officers. I want to give them everything they need from, knowledge to training, to having a good time coming to work."
Norris says he will remain interim chief until the nationwide search is complete.
CORRECTION: A previous headline to this article misnamed the new interim police chief. His name is Darren Norris. We regret the error.