RADFORD,Va. – Changes are coming to the Radford City Police Department in the coming months, after Chief Donald Goodman announced some unexpected news today.
Goodman has been serving his community for over two decades and today he announced he is retiring. His last day in the uniform will be Dec. 31 of this year.
“This job takes a lot out of you and has taken a lot away from my family and now it’s time to give back to my family and be a blessing to them,” said Goodman.
Goodman says this decision did not become an official thought until about two weeks ago, but has been a topic of discussion for a while among his family. And he believes the department is in a great place.
“I have a group of committed solid people who serve this community well. I would not ever want to leave here without leaving a good police department. So, that helped that I had good people ready to assume other roles and continue on,” Goodman said.
January will make it 11 years since Goodman became Police Chief for the Radford community.
One of his accomplishments includes the moving of the department into its current building in 2012, but he says you will still be able to see him around the area.
"The greatest joy of this job is building relationships inside the police department and throughout the community," Goodman said.
The city manager will announce the next steps and process for the new search of his replacement in the upcoming weeks.