Hudson’s time as Police Chief ‘more beneficial and rewarding than I ever thought’ possible

Stephan Hudson has seen at least two standing ovations in as many days.

At a Prince William County School Board meeting on Wednesday, the county police chief was honored for this 36 years of service in law enforcement. At the annual Valor Awards on Thursday at the Hylton Performing Arts Center, the crowd once again stood and cheered for him.

Hudson will retire from this job as Prince William County’s top cop at the end of the month. He’s been Chief for the past three years, but Hudson has seen some of his toughest days on the job over the last three weeks.

While responding to a domestic shooting in Dale City on February 27, 28-year-old police officer Ashely Guindon was shot and killed. She was an hour in to her first shift as a rookie officer.

Two other officers — Jessie Hempen, 31, an 8-year veteran of the force, and David McKeown, 33, with 12 years on the force, were also shot. McKeown remains hospitalized, and Hempen is now at home recovering.

States Hudson:

“Of course my decision to retire preceded all of these traumatic events, and this is not any type of a coincidence that anyone would wish for. Nobody ever hopes for difficult times like we’ve faced. But I’ve been blessed to be apart of this agency and character that it represents.

Knowing that the folks here serve and love each other so well. They care for each other in a way that just really blows me away when you’re struggling with events like this. I’ve been certainly saddened by these recent events, especially Ashley’s death, but blessed to see the support that has just been poured out all around us.”

This week, the Department posted a “thank you” video to the public for the outpouring of support it received following the shootings. At Thursday’s Valor Awards, narrator and WRC-TV anchor Aaron Gilchrest remarked that it was unusual to see a police department have such a connection to the community it serves. serves.

Hudson was sworn in as police chief three years ago. He replaced the long-serving Charlie T. Deane, who was the department’s second police chief, and one of its first police officers following the department’s formation in 1970.

The department has grown in recent years and now operates with a budget more than $97 million. In 2014, nearly 3,400 people applied to work for the department. Just over 300 were hired.

States Hudson:

“What we always seek, and certainly what I always encourage is a passion to help people and to be dedicated to serving others. It’s not cliche that we’re in a field that is called public service, and to do so, you have to be willing to serve. To serve effectively, I think you have to care about the people that you serve. And in our work that often means protecting, and guarding, and being alongside in a time of crisis… Obviously we must have people of the highest integrity and the highest desire to serve at the professional levels that we require. But I think at the core comes at the compassion for other people.”

Hudson spent two years in the FBI before joining the Prince William County Police Department. He said experience here was “more beneficial and rewarding than I ever thought” possible. Lt. Col. Barry Barnard will serve as Interim Police Chief while a replacement for Hudson is sought; just as he did before elected leaders chose Hudson to replace Deane.

In retirement, Hudson has no immediate plans to begin working elsewhere. There are some opportunities for contract work with other police agencies. When asked if he would ever consider serving as police chief for another department, he replied: “It’s hard for me to say at this point.”

Hudson plans to spend more time with family, play golf, and work with the David’s Hope International mission that works to help the impoverished in Kenya, Africa.

States Hudson:

“I wouldn’t dream of retiring unless I thought the department was in fantastic hands moving forward. One of my core missions from the time I took over as Assistant Chief to my time as Chief has been succession planning, to make sure we had people ready to take over the next levels int his agency, and we certainly do. We’re blessed with some of the most amazing talents I’ve ever seen.”