Dozens gather to give thanks to retiring Charleston Police Chief

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Many people gathered inside Charleston’s City Council Chambers Friday afternoon to give thanks and bid an official farewell to Charleston Police Chief Steve Cooper.

Charleston Police Department Chief Steve Cooper

After 24 years in the Charleston Police Department (CPD), Cooper is retiring from the force. A retirement celebration took place inside Charleston City Hall.

“I am looking forward to a new start and a new chapter in life,” Cooper said. “I look back very fondly at my time with the Charleston Police Department. Today (Friday) I want to focus on the officers I have worked with, the prosecuting attorneys I have worked with and thank everybody who has worked with me and supported me over the years.

“I would like to thank the citizens of Charleston for their support and for allowing me to serve them for as long as I did. I will miss it.”

That next chapter will be as general manager for the Charleston Sanitary Board. There will be no rest for Cooper as his final day as Police Chief is Monday and he starts the new position on Tuesday.

“My time here has made me focus on others,” Cooper said. “Make it about other people. That is the way you build bridges and build relationships is about making it about others and service.”

Cooper joined the CPD on November 25, 1994, and spent the majority of his career in the Criminal Investigation Division. He served as Chief of Detectives for 12 years prior to his appointment as Chief.

“All the work that has been accomplished during my career, all of the officers that I have worked with, all the prosecutors that I have worked with it has been a real privilege,” Cooper said.

“We have had a lot of good things happen. There is a lot of things that happened that things you see, you wish you didn’t have to see. It is a tough world out there, especially when you are a detective you see a lot of things that stick with you, unfortunately.”

Mayor-elect Amy Goodwin named Sgt. Opie Smith as the next Chief. Smith will be sworn in Monday night, along with Goodwin, at Charleston City Council’s meeting.

Cooper had advice for the new leadership and all of the CPD moving forward.

“Continue to serve the citizens of Charleston. Support each other, back each other up and remain a brotherhood.”





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