Cary police chief's take-home car raises residency questions, mileage concerns

Cary Police Chief Terry Sult has put 41,772 miles on a town-issued black 2022 Ford F-150 hybrid pickup in 40 months while public voter records place him in Lincoln County, about 180 miles from Cary. That mileage works out to more than 116 round trips between Cary and Iron Station, and about 696 hours on the road if driven at highway speeds, before taxpayers absorb the added fuel, tire and maintenance costs.

The problem is not just the commute. Cary’s own police recruitment materials say officers who want to participate in the take-home vehicle program must live within 30 linear miles of the police department, even though the department says officers are not required to live within town limits. That makes the chief’s take-home truck a test of whether the same standard applies at the top of the department as it does for rank-and-file employees.

Sult is Cary’s 14th police chief. The town says he has more than four decades of law-enforcement experience, including 27 years with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, where he rose to captain. He also led departments in Gastonia, Sandy Springs, Georgia, and Hampton, Virginia. Cary’s recruitment page says the application process for sworn officers usually takes two to four months, and it lists top pay for a senior police officer at $105,081.60.

Public voter-registration information identifies Terry Lynn Sult as a registered voter in Lincoln County at an Iron Station address. North Carolina DMV guidance says a North Carolina voter precinct card can be used as proof of state residency. Reporting also says Sult rents a place in Cary, but Cary officials have shed little light on how much time he spends at homes in Lincoln and Mecklenburg counties.

The issue lands in a town already under pressure for more budget transparency after the town manager fallout. It also invites comparison with nearby agencies. Raleigh Police says take-home vehicles are meant to promote visibility, deter crime, reduce response times, lower maintenance costs and improve morale. Fuquay-Varina updated its take-home vehicle policy in 2018 to allow eligibility for employees living within 10 miles of town limits and later said it surveyed other agencies around Wake County about distance limits.

For Cary, the unanswered questions are straightforward: who approved the chief’s arrangement, whether any exception exists in writing, and whether the same residency and mileage rules would be enforced for a lower-ranking officer.