“I didn’t choose law enforcement, it chose me.”
Those words were what Officer Mitchell spoke when he was working as a 1st Sgt. for the Estill Police Department in March of 2024 when he was awarded with the First Hero award at a ceremony for his work. Mitchell was the first and only officer to respond to a call from a woman who was reporting an assault and other dangerous events related to the assault in a 911 call. Mitchell responded and immediately assessed the situation, relayed critical information to fellow LEO’s, and ultimately resolved the situation.
One might ask why a police officer from Estill is in a newspaper that serves Colleton County. Meet the new Chief for the Cottageville Police Department: James Lee Mitchell. Chief Mitchell began his law enforcement career at the Fairfax Police Department in 2013. He also worked at Allendale County Detention Center in 2009, and that experience allowed him to see law enforcement from another perspective. A friend of Mitchell’s, Chief Williams from Fairfax, told him that Cottageville was looking for a new police chief. James decided to come to Cottageville and he spoke with Mayor Dulin. Mitchell shared Dulin wanted change for Cottageville and told him “if you give me the opportunity, we can definitely make change”. Dulin and Mitchell talk for a bit and the Mayor asked Mitchell to email his resume. James preferred to bring it back to Cottageville personally and he ultimately was offered the position of Chief of the Cottageville Police Department which he accepted. This is not the first Chief of Police position Mitchell has held. He has also been Chief of the Gifford Police Department, a town in Hampton County, bringing experience to this new position.
Chief Mitchell has short- and long-term goals he wants to accomplish in Cottageville. His short-term goal is to get to know the citizens of Cottageville and make himself visible in the community. One of his long-term goals is to change the narrative about Cottageville and how people talk about it, such as the “speedtrap” stigma and also to correct past wrongs and look toward a better future for the town. Thank you, Chief Mitchell for stepping into a difficult situation and your efforts to make it better.
