Linden police chief bids farewell

After 16 years with the Linden Police Department and the last nine as the chief, Scott McClure has tendered his resignation.

“It is with a heavy heart that I regret to inform the citizens of Linden that after 16 years with the Linden Police Department. I feel it necessary to tender my resignation as your police chief,” McClure posted on Facebook. “I’m sure as with any situation, there will be lots of rumors to circulate. I simply resigned due to the lack of support that myself and the other officers have received due to politics. I am looking forward to the opportunities that have already presented themselves for my future. I look forward to visiting with the good citizens of Linden as this will always be my home.”

While McClure did not elaborate on the circumstances leading up to his resignation, he reflected on his time with the department and joy of working in his hometown.

“It’s great. You work with the people that you grew up with. Most of the adults around here now, I went to school with. They’re parents are not older, retired. You see them and they used to come to your ballgames and stuff. It’s hometown people that you enjoy being around. You enjoy seeing them everyday,” McClure said. “In this situation you enjoy taking care of them and protecting them and making sure that they’re safe. That was the goal the whole time in being chief here was to take care of my hometown.”

McClure said he cannot share details about his next employment opportunity because the hiring is not yet official.

“I’m excited of course to have another opportunity at something that is law enforcement related. It’ll be a different chapter of law enforcement, but it is still law enforcement related. I look forward to kind of a change in venue, a change in some people that I’ll be working with and just try to be positive from there,” McClure said.

As he departs the police force, McClure turned to the officers who serve under him in identifying what he will miss about the job.

“The guys I work with and the people in town. They’re willingness to help, their determination. I’ve got a lot of young guys that are willing to learn. They want to learn. They’re looking for leadership to come in here with some good opportunities,” McClure said. “They’re more than willing to do whatever whenever and just pick it up and go with it. That’s what this job is about. You train, you train, you train and you hope when the time comes that you’re there and you know what to do. That’s what the training is for, to make it second nature so that when the time comes, you can do it. That’s all these guys want to do. They want to learn how to do what they need to when it needs to be done.”

In addition to the officers he leaves behind and the number of good officers he has worked with over the years, McClure is most proud of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program that he helped implement in the city.

“I started a program with D.A.R.E. They had D.A.R.E. years ago and I always thought it was a big program,” McClure said. “I started it with officer Sonya Miles. I was very proud of D.A.R.E. We didn’t get to do it as long as I intended to. I’m really proud of the work we did with D.A.R.E. when we had it.”