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Burdette announced as Beaufort Police Chief, starts Nov. 9

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Wrightsville Beach Police Department’s second-in-command will become the top police officer in Beaufort, North Carolina as the town announced that it has hired Paul D. Burdette, Jr. for its open police chief position. He’s scheduled to take the oath of office before the Beaufort Board of Commissioners on Nov. 9.

Beaufort Town Manager Charles Burgess made the announcement on Thursday after Lumina News first published unconfirmed reports of the personnel change.

“Burdette brings solid law enforcement background will great administrative experience,” Burgess said. “He possesses good communication skills and I believe will be a big asset to the department, organization and the community.”

Burdette has been the captain at WBPD since 2012, coming to the department from the North Carolina Department of Revenue. Burdette began his career in law enforcement in nearby Morehead City, where he worked as a police officer from 1996 to 1998. Both communities, located approximately 100 miles up the coast from Wrightsville Beach, are generally known as the “Crystal Coast.” He also served as a police officer in Orlando, Fla. from 1999 to 2005.

Burdette, who also served a four-year enlistment in the U.S. Marine Corp, earned a masters of science from the University of Cincinnati in Criminal Justice Research and a bachelor of art from Columbia College in Orlando, in addition to graduating from the FBI National Academy.

The personnel change comes as the town has been working to replenish its ranks after a rash of resignations this summer that left the police force of 25 short at least eight officers at one point. The town now has five new officers in the hiring or training process, Wrightsville Beach Police Chief Dan House said. By Oct. 26, House said he expects all five officers to be on the force. Of the five new officers, three have prior police experience, House said, while two are rookie officers.

Two new officers are in the police department’s 16-week field training program, House said. Three other hires are being reviewed by the N.C. Department of Justice Law Enforcement Training and Standards Commission, which reviews potential police candidates across the state.

Other positions on the police force also need to be filled, including an investigator position, but those roles aren’t critical to the department, House said.

“With these five new officers, all of our squad will be filled and our regular force will be out there by the end of the month,” House said on Tuesday before word of Burdette’s possible departure.

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