Gulf Shores, Ala. – (OBA) – In the last month, the Gulf Shores Police Department lost to retirement more than 55 years of experience when Lt. Bill Cowan, 30 years with Gulf Shores and Command Sgt. Richard King with 25 years at GSPD.

Police Chief Ed Delmore recognized the pair at the Feb. 19 council work sessions and also announced some promotions to fill those positions and the positions they were promoted from. Delmore also introduced five new police officers, two community service officers and one detention officer. Delmore also gave awards to the three Aggressive Criminal Enforcement officers for 2023.

“We are going to recognize several of our people who are being promoted as a result of some recent retirements,” Delmore said. “Two command level people retired which had the domino effect of promoting up through the ranks and hiring additional personnel.”

The two officers stepping into the command positions are Lt. Josh Gulledge and Lt. Josh Hoguet.

LT. JOSH GULLEDGE

“Lt. Gulledge is a Baldwin County native and graduated from Robertsdale High School. He earned a BA in criminal justice from Troy University,” Delmore said. “His law enforcement career began in Demopolis in 2010, where he remained until joining us in 2012. He has served here as a field training officer, detective, school resource officer and he was promoted to sergeant here in 2019 and to command sergeant in 2022. He and his wife Lindsay have two daughters.

LT. JOSH HOGUET

“Josh Hoguet comes from a police family,” Delmore said. “His father left GSPD last year to become a police chief in Colorado. One of his brothers is a police sergeant in a suburb of St. Louis. Josh graduated from Belleville East High School and received a full-ride scholarship to play baseball at Southern Illinois University, where he also earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He joined GSPD in 2012. He has been through the ranks and has served in several specialized positions including SWAT, the search and recovery dive team, he was a defensive tactic's instructor, he’s been assigned to beach patrol, special operations division and as a Gulf Shores High School substitute teacher and baseball coach. Josh and his wife have two children.

Delmore also recognized the promotions of Marlon Hanner and Ben Hancock to command sergeant to fill positions vacated by Gulledge and Hoge.

“In the Gulf Shores Police Department, the rank of command sergeant only exists now in the patrol division,” Delmore said. “A command sergeant runs the shift for the police department. They run patrol, they run corrections, they run communications and they run everything. So, they have to know every aspect of police operations.”

COMMAND SGT. MARLIN HANNER

“Hanner was valedictorian of Enterprise High School and has a bachelor’s degree from Auburn in 2009,” Delmore said. “First job was in Opelika and he won the scholar award after graduation from the police academy in Selma. He came to Gulf Shores PD in 2011 and had been a patrol officer, beach patrol officer, school resource officer and a patrol division sergeant.”

COMMAND SERGEANT BEN HANCOCK

“He is a graduate of Decatur High School and a graduate of South Alabama with a major in criminal major and a sociology minor,” Delmore said. “He volunteered for the Gulf Shores Police Department, did an internship in Gulf Shores and he was eventually hired as a detention officer in 2014 and later hired as a patrol officer. He became a K-9 handler in 2017, won the Officer of the Year award in 2018 and a life-saving award in 2019. He was promoted to sergeant in 2021.”

Others recognized during the presentation were:

SERGEANTS:

Stacy McElroy

Detective Sgt. Leah Boone

NEW OFFICERS

Joey Forbes

Ryan Johnson

Ashley Shanks

Eva Pendley

Gary Scott

COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICERS

Marvel Backri

Chris Hinton

DETENTION OFFICER

Kathyrn Hamlett

AGGRESSIVE CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT

In order to be recognized as an ACE recipient, the officer must make 10 self-initiated felony arrests in a calendar year. The 2023 honorees are:

Tim Hester, 14 felony arrests

Sgt. Landon Coker, 14 felony arrests

Chris Childress, 10 felony arrests, officer of the year in both 2022 and 2023