FOLEY, Ala. — Two Foley police officers who together spent more than five decades serving the city are retiring, and the department is marking their departures, according to the City of Foley’s September newsletter.
Sgt. Randolph “Randy” Stallworth is retiring after more than 20 years with the Foley Police Department. Lt. Tony Fuqua retired Aug. 31 after more than 30 years of service to the City of Foley.
Sgt. Randy Stallworth
Fellow officers knew Stallworth as reliable, tough and calm under pressure — someone they could always count on. The department says his service leaves a lasting legacy with both the agency and the Foley community.
Those three qualities are not incidental praise. In police work, the officer colleagues describe as calm under pressure is the one whose presence changes how a scene unfolds. Reliability, in a profession where backup is frequently the difference between a situation resolving and escalating, is among the highest compliments available.
Lt. Tony Fuqua
Fuqua was known for his calm demeanor, sharp humor and unwavering commitment to the profession. The department described him as an exceptional leader who consistently advocated for the people he led — even when standing alone in a room.
That last phrase carries specific weight in a law enforcement context. Advocating for subordinates in a room where no one else will is not a stylistic trait; it is a choice with professional consequences. Supervisors who do it earn a particular kind of trust from the people beneath them, and the department noted that Fuqua earned exactly that.
His experience, guidance and lively spirit will be greatly missed, the department said.
What Thirty Years in One Department Means
Careers of this length in a single municipal agency have become less common than they once were, and the reason is worth understanding.
Law enforcement has faced sustained recruitment and retention pressure nationally. Agencies compete for a smaller pool of applicants, and experienced officers are recruited by departments offering better pay, different assignments or lateral rank. Small and mid-sized departments frequently lose officers they trained to larger agencies.
An officer who spends 20 or 30 years in one department therefore represents institutional continuity that money cannot easily buy. They know the geography, the recurring addresses, the families, the businesses, and the history of situations that newer officers encounter fresh. That knowledge does not transfer through training; it accumulates through time on the same streets.
When two such officers retire in the same period, a department loses more than two positions on a roster. It loses a portion of its memory.
The Supervisory Gap
Both retirements are at supervisory rank — a sergeant and a lieutenant — which compounds the effect.
In a municipal police department, sergeants are the first line of supervision and are the officers most directly responsible for how patrol work actually gets done. They review reports, respond to calls alongside patrol officers, make decisions in the field and set the working culture of a shift.
Lieutenants typically hold command over shifts or divisions, sitting between first-line supervision and the command staff. The position involves scheduling, personnel management, policy implementation and the coordination that keeps a department functioning across shifts.
Filling those roles requires promoting from within — which means the department will be moving officers up into supervision, and backfilling the patrol positions they leave.
Foley’s Growth and Its Department
The Foley Police Department serves a city that has changed substantially over the span of these two careers.
Foley has grown from a Baldwin County agricultural town into one of the region’s retail and tourism hubs, anchored by outlet shopping, a substantial commercial corridor along Alabama 59, sports tourism at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex, and traffic moving toward Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
An officer who began 30 years ago policed a smaller and quieter city. The department those officers leave handles seasonal population swings, heavy through traffic, a large commercial base and the call volume that accompanies all of it.
The department has also been active in the community beyond enforcement, and recently drew attention for its work with local businesses on commercial security following a series of overnight break-ins.
Recognition
The City of Foley recognized both officers through its September newsletter.
Retirement recognitions in municipal departments tend to be modest affairs — a newsletter item, a presentation at a council meeting, a gathering with colleagues. For officers who spent decades responding to the worst days of other people’s lives, that understatement is characteristic of the profession.
South Alabama News thanks Sgt. Randy Stallworth and Lt. Tony Fuqua for their combined half-century of service to the Foley community.