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Cary, Wake County

Cary: Police Chief Terry Sult to retire Jan. 15

WRAL, WPTF and ABC11 report that Chief Terry Sult, 69, will leave the job on Jan. 15, 2027. He has been chief since 2022. No successor is named.

ConfirmedThe main facts are confirmed by official or first-hand sources.

By Alexandru Stanciu · Published

What we know

Confirmed

  • WRAL wrote on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, that the Cary Police Department announced Chief Terry Sult has decided to retire, and that the retirement is effective Jan. 15, 2027. The same story said the town of Cary said he had decided to retire after more than 50 years in law enforcement.Confirmed by WRAL, posted Nov. 6, 2026, 4:14 p.m., updated 4:23 p.m.
  • WPTF, in a story time-stamped 2:52 p.m. Nov. 6, wrote that Sult will retire effective Jan. 15, 2027, after more than five years with the department and more than five decades in law enforcement in three states. It said Town Manager Russ Overton's remarks were in a press release.Confirmed by WPTF, Nov. 6, 2026
  • ABC11, in a story dated Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., reported the same Jan. 15, 2027, date, the same age of 69, and that Sult became Cary's 14th chief in 2022 after being named interim chief in 2021.Confirmed by ABC11, Nov. 7, 2026
  • WRAL, WPTF and ABC11 all carried remarks from Overton thanking Sult for leadership development and a strategic plan, citing Cary's reputation as one of the safest communities in America, and wishing him well. All three also carried Sult saying he had agreed to three to five years, that he believes those obligations are met, and that after 50 years in policing he wants time with his family.Confirmed by WRAL; WPTF; ABC11
  • All three outlets reported that Overton plans to talk with the police department in the coming weeks, then work with town human resources staff on a 2027 recruitment process. None of the three names a successor.Confirmed by WRAL; WPTF; ABC11
  • The Town of Cary news-release index, checked Sunday morning, Nov. 8, 2026, did not list a retirement announcement. The newest items on that page were dated Nov. 4.Confirmed by Town of Cary news releases page, checked Nov. 8, 2026
  • The town's chief biography page still describes Terry Sult as the chief in office. It says he is the 14th chief, began with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, served 27 years and rose to captain, then led departments in Gastonia, in Sandy Springs, Georgia, where he also served as public safety director, and in Hampton, Virginia. ABC11 and WPTF describe those same later stops.Confirmed by Town of Cary chief of police page; ABC11; WPTF

Still unknown

  • Who will be the next Cary police chief
  • The recruitment calendar beyond Overton's plan to talk with the department and then human resources
  • A town webpage that posts the retirement announcement itself. The Nov. 8 check of the news-release index did not find one

What happened

In Cary, Police Chief Terry Sult is retiring effective Jan. 15, 2027, after more than 50 years in law enforcement, according to WRAL, WPTF and ABC11.

WRAL wrote Friday that the Cary Police Department announced the decision, and that the town said he had chosen to leave. WPTF, earlier that afternoon, wrote that Town Manager Russ Overton's remarks were in a press release. ABC11 published the same date on Saturday and reported that Sult is 69. He became the town's 14th chief in 2022 after an interim appointment in 2021, all three accounts say.

The Town of Cary news-release index, checked Sunday morning, did not list a retirement item. The newest entries on that page were dated Nov. 4. The town's biography of the chief still describes him as the person in the job. This story uses the announcement as those three newsrooms reported it.

What the reports attribute to them

Overton thanked Sult for work on leadership inside the agency and for a strategic plan. He cited the town's reputation as one of the safest communities in America and wished him well. The three newsrooms all carried that.

Sult said he was asked to take on leadership development and preparedness. He agreed to a term of three to five years and believes that term has been met. Five decades on the job is enough, he said, and he wants time with his family. He thanked residents, the council and the manager. Those points appear in each of the three stories.

Overton's next step, as the outlets described it, is a set of conversations with the agency in the coming weeks, then work with human resources on hiring in 2027. No name for the following chief appears in these reports.

The record already on the town site

The biography page says Sult started at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, stayed 27 years and rose to captain. It says he later led agencies in Gastonia, in Sandy Springs, Georgia, where he also was public safety director, and in Hampton, Virginia. ABC11 and WPTF describe those same later posts.

The town council named Overton manager in October, which this site reported at the time. More Wake County news is on this site.

Triangle Local is not the town and not the police department. This is not an emergency notice. If someone is in danger, call 911.

Photos

Text-only. No town or outlet photographs are used here.

Why it matters

Cary is about to change police chiefs. Readers need the date the outlets attribute to the town, and a clear line between that announcement and the town webpages that do not yet show it.

Sources

  1. Cary police chief to retire in January after more than 50 years in law enforcement (WRAL, posted Nov. 6, 2026, 4:14 p.m., updated 4:23 p.m.: the town of Cary said Sult decided to retire; the Cary Police Department announced it; effective Jan. 15, 2027; 14th chief since 2022; interim chief in 2021; age 69; Overton and Sult remarks; talks with the department, then human resources, on recruiting. Text-only.)

    Official sourcePublished by Cary Police Department, via WRAL · Checked Nov 8, 2026, 8:05 AM

  2. Cary Police Chief to Retire After More Than 50 Years of Public Service (WPTF, Nov. 6, 2026, 2:52 p.m.: effective Jan. 15, 2027; Overton quoted from a press release; 14th chief in 2022 after interim service in 2021; age 69; Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Gastonia, Sandy Springs and Hampton; conversations with the department, then human resources, for a 2027 process. A staffing total in this story is not used, because the other accounts read Sunday do not state it.)

    Official sourcePublished by Town of Cary, via WPTF · Checked Nov 8, 2026, 8:05 AM

  3. Cary Police Chief Terry Sult to retire after 50-year law enforcement career (ABC11, Nov. 7, 2026, 7:30 p.m.: Jan. 15, 2027; age 69; 14th chief in 2022; interim in 2021; more than five years in Cary and more than 50 years in three states; Overton and Sult remarks; Charlotte-Mecklenburg captain, then Gastonia, Sandy Springs public safety director, and Hampton; meetings with personnel, then human resources, on a 2027 process. Text-only.)

    Third-party sourcePublished by ABC11 (WTVD) · Checked Nov 8, 2026, 8:05 AM

  4. Police Chief Terry Sult (Town of Cary biography page, checked Nov. 8, 2026: still presented as the chief in office; 14th chief; Charlotte-Mecklenburg, 27 years, captain; Gastonia; Sandy Springs, also public safety director; Hampton. This page does not announce a retirement date.)

    Official sourcePublished by Town of Cary · Checked Nov 8, 2026, 8:05 AM

  5. Town of Cary news releases index (checked Nov. 8, 2026: no retirement item listed; newest items shown were the FY 2027 first-quarter report and the Veterans Day schedule, both dated Nov. 4, 2026)

    Official sourcePublished by Town of Cary · Checked Nov 8, 2026, 8:05 AM

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