HANCEVILLE — The City of Hanceville is without its two top law enforcement officers after one retired and the other resigned from the city’s police department within the span of two days.
Assistant police chief Adam Hadder gave notice of his retirement on April 10, followed on April 12 by the resignation of police chief Josh Howell, who had been on the job for a year after replacing former chief Bob Long in April 2023.
Speaking Monday with The Times, Howell said his resignation stemmed from a confluence of hardships that converged during his brief tenure, including a family tragedy, the stress of inheriting ongoing special projects already under way at the time of Long’s departure, a major transition in city leadership earlier this year and a temporary personal health issue.
“You can’t be a leader if you physically are not healthy,” said Howell, who shared on social media that he had experienced “some health issues” while also mourning the passing of his adult brother within a short span of time last fall. “The stress of recent events,” Howell’s post shared, “has led me to reevaluate my life and prioritize my health and well-being.”
“I’m a working chief, and if there was a chase or something extenuating happening after hours, I was on the scene for it to ensure the safety of our community, of my fellow officers and even of the suspect,” Howell told The Times on Monday. “With the stress of everything else that I’ve had going on, and not being able to spend time with my family on top of that, it was just time. I felt that I was able to do some good while I served as chief, and I want to view that in a positive way. I believe that this is what God had planned for me.”
Hanceville mayor Jimmy Sawyer has appointed city patrol officer Jason Marlin — a 19-year veteran of the Birmingham Police Department who’s served with Hanceville since 2021 — as interim acting chief of police in Howell’s absence. Sawyer said Monday that the search for a permanent chief won’t be a rushed process.
“We’ll be looking at applications soon, but we aren’t going to be in a hurry,” said Sawyer. “I have confidence in officer Marlin to carry on the day-to-day functions of the police department until the time comes that we do appoint a new chief.”
Howell said his decision to resign form the chief’s position was an anguished one, and one not informed by any ill will toward the mayor or other city colleagues.
“The chief’s position wasn’t something I sought; it was something that I was approached and asked to do,” he said. “I was an investigator before, and I continued doing investigations after becoming chief because there simply wasn’t enough manpower for us to draw from. We were already trying to finish up a construction project for the jail in the meantime, and I was still trying to really learn how to be a new chief when a new mayor [Sawyer] came in [in January of 2024]. It was stressful.
“I felt like I was struggling in some ways as a chief, and then my assistant chief started looking at retiring,” he added. “But I spoke to the mayor about it beforehand, and we prayed together about it. I have a good relationship with Jimmy. He shook my hand and hugged me, and said ‘I love you — I just hate that we couldn’t do this together.’”