WEST POINT — After more than four decades of military service, police work and karate lessons, West Point Police Chief Avery Cook is preparing to retire.
Cook, who has led the department since 2017, will work his last day on Monday. Though his decision to retire has been in the works for some time, Cook said stepping away from the force is proving to be bittersweet.
“I’ll miss the camaraderie of the officers and interacting with the community in that capacity,” Cook told The Dispatch on Thursday. “I loved what I was doing, but I figured out that when you get to that point, you have to try to leave it better than you found it, move on and let somebody else come in with their vision.”
Born and raised in West Point, Cook served 21 years in the Army – a path that took him far from home through Desert Storm and to places like Georgia, Texas, Germany and Iraq before completing his service in 2006.
Cook, who holds a third-degree black belt in karate, also taught lessons at a dojo he ran with his uncle and cousin from 2001 until it closed shop about four years ago.
His calm and composed nature, honed through decades of military service and martial arts, was a defining trait throughout his law enforcement career.
“It was hard to get him upset about anything,” said Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott. “He took it all in stride. When you do this kind of work, you’ve got to be able to control your emotions. You can’t let anger rule you, and he was always good at that.”
Cook began his law enforcement career in 2000 with the West Point Police Department at the prompting of then-WPPD Assistant Chief Gary Turner and Patrol Captain Eddie Johnson.
“They kept asking me to think about it, to just give it a try,” Cook said. “Well I joined it, and the rest is history.”
Cook first served as a shift supervisor and later as assistant chief under former chiefs Tim Brinkley and Bobby Lane before moving to the Clay County Sheriffs Office in 2013. At CCSO, Cook served as investigator and later as commander of the patrol division under Scott.
Looking back, Cook said he’s proud of the work he’s done and is prepared to pass the torch. As of now, his retirement plans are uncertain, though he’s dedicated the coming months to completing his “honey-do list.”
Scott said that with Cook’s departure, WPPD has their work cut out for them.
“He’s definitely going to be missed, and whoever the next police chief is has got some big shoes to fill,” Scott said. “… It’s going to be a little different with him being gone.”
West Point Mayor Rod Bobo said an interim police chief will be selected at the next meeting of the board of mayor and selectmen, which will be held July 8.
From that point, applications for the next official police chief will be reviewed. Though Bobo did not share a date for when a new police chief would be appointed, he said the process will be done swiftly.
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