Lieutenant Scott Tucker, of Pelham, Ala., recently retired from the department where he had served for several years. Although his career wasn't the longest in the force's history, he made a lasting impression with citizens and professionals in the city.
Earlier this September, Tucker's official retirement was announced, with Tucker moving on to pursue other opportunities. Tucker's presence was felt not only in the police force he helped lead, but also throughout the city, as he had built for himself a reputation of being accessible, accommodating, kind and professional.
Neal Wagner, city editor at the Pelham Reporter, wrote a Sept. 8 column echoing the sentiment that was apparent among those who worked with Tucker: He'll be missed. Wagner acknowledged the entire Pelham Police Department for always going "above and beyond" to help him in journalistic endeavors, but he then went on to single out Tucker as being "extremely helpful, professional and genuinely nice."
Police department staff members are known for being overwhelmed with paperwork and other duties and for being brisk with reporters, especially in the midst of ongoing investigations of crimes. Wagner said that crime in Pelham during Tucker's service largely happened at night, and Tucker usually worked the afternoon and evening shifts every day. When breaking news happened. Pelham Reporter staff called the police department for comment, and Wagner said, "Whenever I heard Tucker pick up the other line, I knew I was going to be able to get all the information I needed quickly. As any journalist will tell you, that kind of professional, courteous help is a Godsend, especially when you are writing on a tight deadline."
When criminal incidents do occur, people want to know details to ease the fear that lies in uncertainty. There often is a disconnect between police entities and reporters, with one side trying to solve the crime and bring those involved to justice as quickly as possible, and the other side digging for as many details at every stage of the process as quickly as possible. These two goals rarely work together. But Wagner said, even in the midst of a serial burglary incident in Pelham weeks before Tucker's retirement was announced, one phone call to Tucker resulted in the lieutenant giving the editor a thorough review of each and every police report filed within the three-day period that the crimes had been going on. "I'm sure he definitely had a laundry list of things to do that day, but he went out of his way to make my job easier," Wagner wrote in his column. "And it was like that every time I spoke with him."
Tucker began his law enforcement career as a charter member of the Hoover Police Department Law Enforcement Explorer program in 1982. He received an Associate's Degree in Criminal Justice from Jefferson State Community College in 1985, and continued his law enforcement education through 2007, when he received a scholarship sponsored by the FBI National Academy Associates to attend the University of Phoenix. He graduated in November 2010 with honors with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice Administration. He made national headlines when he busted a large, unauthorized poker game early in 2010.
Earlier this September, Tucker's official retirement was announced, with Tucker moving on to pursue other opportunities. Tucker's presence was felt not only in the police force he helped lead, but also throughout the city, as he had built for himself a reputation of being accessible, accommodating, kind and professional.
Neal Wagner, city editor at the Pelham Reporter, wrote a Sept. 8 column echoing the sentiment that was apparent among those who worked with Tucker: He'll be missed. Wagner acknowledged the entire Pelham Police Department for always going "above and beyond" to help him in journalistic endeavors, but he then went on to single out Tucker as being "extremely helpful, professional and genuinely nice."
Police department staff members are known for being overwhelmed with paperwork and other duties and for being brisk with reporters, especially in the midst of ongoing investigations of crimes. Wagner said that crime in Pelham during Tucker's service largely happened at night, and Tucker usually worked the afternoon and evening shifts every day. When breaking news happened. Pelham Reporter staff called the police department for comment, and Wagner said, "Whenever I heard Tucker pick up the other line, I knew I was going to be able to get all the information I needed quickly. As any journalist will tell you, that kind of professional, courteous help is a Godsend, especially when you are writing on a tight deadline."
When criminal incidents do occur, people want to know details to ease the fear that lies in uncertainty. There often is a disconnect between police entities and reporters, with one side trying to solve the crime and bring those involved to justice as quickly as possible, and the other side digging for as many details at every stage of the process as quickly as possible. These two goals rarely work together. But Wagner said, even in the midst of a serial burglary incident in Pelham weeks before Tucker's retirement was announced, one phone call to Tucker resulted in the lieutenant giving the editor a thorough review of each and every police report filed within the three-day period that the crimes had been going on. "I'm sure he definitely had a laundry list of things to do that day, but he went out of his way to make my job easier," Wagner wrote in his column. "And it was like that every time I spoke with him."
Tucker began his law enforcement career as a charter member of the Hoover Police Department Law Enforcement Explorer program in 1982. He received an Associate's Degree in Criminal Justice from Jefferson State Community College in 1985, and continued his law enforcement education through 2007, when he received a scholarship sponsored by the FBI National Academy Associates to attend the University of Phoenix. He graduated in November 2010 with honors with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice Administration. He made national headlines when he busted a large, unauthorized poker game early in 2010.
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