CULLMAN, Alabama (WBRC) – After 26 years of service to the community of Cullman, Police Chief David Nassetta will retire in just a few months.
“You always hope that it will be a little better there than you found it,” he said.
In early August, the department announced his resignation. The press release described Nassetta as “a steadfast leader who embodied integrity and a deep commitment to the community he served.”
He began his career in the police decades ago.
“I graduated from Auburn University in 1997 and started working here with the police department about two weeks later, so I started full-time in March 1997,” Nassetta explained.
He worked for the Cullman Police Department for four years before spending several years with the Birmingham Police Department and then returning to Cullman.
“This job has allowed me to do a lot of different things,” he recalls. “Even in a small department like Cullman, we have a lot of different areas: patrol, investigations.”
As the city has grown, so has its workforce: “We’ve increased the size of the department. Over the last two years, we’ve really tried to hire more staff because we hadn’t added any new positions since the late ’90s.”
Chief Nassetta said he has created 6-7 jobs in the last two years.
He is retiring, but admits that future generations may have a harder time in this profession.
“I just got back from the Chief’s Conference last weekend and the discussion was about the question: If your child said they wanted to be a police officer, would you say yes or no? The short answer is everyone says, ‘Oh no. The attitude of today’s society…’ I feel a little bit like that, but at the same time I still feel it is one of the most honorable professions and if my children ever said, ‘I want to go down that path,’ I would certainly feel honored, but at the same time I would caution them and say, ‘You know, it’s a lot harder now than it was when I first started.'”
He says society as a whole seems to have a different attitude toward law enforcement, but Cullman is an exception.
Chief Nassetta has confidence in the new officers and appreciates the support he has received from the community and the department over the years.
“From the moment I took over as CEO until I left, they supported me,” he said. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.”
Chief Nassetta’s retirement date is set for October 1, 2024.
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