Cary Police Chief Terry Sult will hang up his badge for good on Jan. 15, 2027, closing out a law enforcement career that stretches back more than 50 years and across three states. The 69-year-old chief has been with the Cary Police Department for more than five years, including serving as interim chief before becoming the town's 14th permanent police chief in 2022.
According to ABC11 News, Sult began his career with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, where he worked his way up to the rank of captain. From there, he went on to lead police departments in Gastonia, North Carolina, Sandy Springs, Georgia — where he also served as public safety director — and Hampton, Virginia, before eventually landing in Cary.
Sult's path to the Cary chief's office ran through retirement first. He stepped down from the Hampton Police Division in April 2021, as reported by the Daily Press, which noted at the time that he had already logged more than 40 years in the field. Mark Talbot, Hampton's first Black police chief, took over as his successor there in June 2021, according to WAVY. Sult didn't stay retired long, surfacing in Cary as interim chief before the town made the appointment permanent in 2022.
Why He's Calling It a Career
Sult framed his departure as the fulfillment of a promise he made when he took the Cary job. “I agreed to three to five years of service. I believe both the department, and I have met those obligations,” he said, per the station's report. He also pointed to the toll of a half-century in policing as he looks ahead to life after the badge.
“Now, after 50 years in policing, it's time to relax and spend time with my family,” Sult said, according to WRAL. The outgoing chief also thanked Cary residents, the town council and the town manager as he prepares to step away.
Town Manager Credits Sult's Leadership
Cary Town Manager Russ Overton credited Sult with strengthening leadership within the department and developing a strategic plan for its future. Overton said he plans to meet with Cary Police Department personnel in the coming weeks and will work with the town's human resources staff on options for a 2027 recruitment process to find Sult's successor, the same account notes.
Cary's own announcement of the retirement described Sult as having spent more than five years with the department and over five decades in law enforcement across three states, according to carync.gov. No timeline for naming a new chief has been detailed beyond Overton's planned outreach to department staff and town human resources officials in the weeks ahead.
