Lauren Monica | Anson Record
WADESBORO — Holding a press conference last Wednesday, the Wadesboro Police Department announced exciting news for the people of Wadesboro. Speaking publicly for the first time since resuming his role as Chief of Wadesboro Police, Thedis Spencer confirms he has been sworn in as Interim Chief, a role he came out of retirement to fill when Interim Chief Jason Eschert opted to follow in the footsteps of Chief Brandon Chewning and take early retirement. Spencer had served as Wadesboro’s chief of police for over a decade when he retired in 2023.
During the June 18 press conference, Interim Chief Spencer declared the goals he has for the department moving forward: a commitment to transparency, rebuilding the community’s trust in the department and to moving forward stronger together.
Spencer said, “I did not return to this department to relive or address the past. I cannot change what has already happened and I will not be commenting on any decisions made by the last administration.”
Instead, he said his immediate focus for the future of the department is on officer recruitment and retention. Interim Chief Spencer, who served as Wadesboro’s police chief for more than a decade, remembers a time when the department had upwards of 26 officers in its ranks. Today, the struggling force is making do with just four officers patrolling the streets of one of the most dangerous towns in the state. In the meantime, the Anson County Sheriff’s Office is again offering deputies to assist WPD until more qualified officers can be hired to beef up the local force.
Spencer says he is confident this can be done through his department’s commitment to public transparency as he sees being open and honest with his officers and the community as key to rebuilding the trust lost during the incident that resulted in the death of the department’s only K-9, Officer Blitz.
Spencer says he is aware of the emotional and professional upheaval his former department has recently undergone, starting with the abrupt retirement announcement of beloved former Chief Brandon Chewning. Proving to be fateful, Chewning’s decision ultimately sent the WPD into a tailspin.
Interim Chief Spencer said, “We are working around the clock to earn back the trust of this community, and we will not stop until Wadesboro has a police department that reflects its values.”
As part of this commitment, Spencer introduced two new leaders within the WPD; Lt. Mike Childers and Sgt. Tamika Nolen.
Childers has a long and distinguished career serving in law enforcement already and also brings to the table a focus on love and compassion for others through his ministry pastoring his local church. He will oversee patrol operations and training, while Nolen will continue to serve in her current capacity as detective.
Having been the only investigator the WPD has had over the last year, Nolen say she is grateful for her community, the investigators with the ACSO who continue to be an invaluable help, and Spencer’s declaration to focus on adding more investigators like Nolen to the ranks.
She said, “I am really grateful that Chief Spencer is bringing in more investigators because this is a more than one person job. One person can’t do this, which is why I have had so much help from the Anson County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division.”
Nolen went on to say she is still learning, adding, “This type of job you can’t ever stop learning, so I am grateful to have them [ACSO investigators] to lean on when I maybe don’t know something or I’m not good at something. If I call them, they come.”
Summing up the press conference and the future goals of the WPD best, Nolen said, “The people are the reason why I am here. I have received nothing but positive [feedback] from the community, and I really appreciate how they support their police officers. They want to do what is right. I’m the type of person where right is right and wrong is wrong and just tell the truth. The truth may not always be pretty, but the truth is the truth.”
Doubling down on his commitment to being transparent with the public, Interim Chief Spencer says he looks forward to continuing to work closely with the Anson Record and has agreed to sit down for an interview in the coming days to further expound on his vision for the future of the WPD and what the community should come to expect from the department moving forward.
