Irmo police captain promoted to chief as Perry retires

Irmo, SC (Paul Kirby) – The Town of Irmo has named their former Captain Courtney Dennis as their new police chief. This has been done after current Police Chief Don Perry announced his retirement.

Dennis has been the Irmo Police Department’s public information officer, dealing with media inquiries, and overseeing the IPD’s Professional Standards and Training Divisions most recently. These are but a few of the positions Dennis has held since starting with the department as a reserve officer and being hired on full-time in 2002.

Dennis has some large shoes to fill. He is replacing Chief Don Perry who has spent the lion’s share of his law enforcement career with the Irmo Department. He has been there for 22 years and worked at the West Columbia PD and the SC Department of Mental Health in law enforcement for a short time before finding his professional home in Irmo. There he settled into a long and rewarding career where he worked himself through the ranks before obtaining the position of chief in 2016.

Irmo is a challenging town to police. It has parts of both Richland and Lexington Counties within its limits. Perry has always maintained a good working relationship with both of those departments as his officers and their deputies depend on each other regularly. Perry’s officers can also interact regularly with the SC Highway Patrol and officers from the Columbia Police Department as Irmo crosses I-26 and is close to the City of Columbia near the mall in several areas.

Dennis is certainly up to the task of leading. He is a native of Irmo and went to school there. He has held almost every position in the department, picking up experience along the way. He has an abiding love for the town and its people. He lives in Irmo with his wife and son.