Former police chief making travel plans

Melvin McAfoos served as the Elida Police Chief for eight years before retiring at the end of 2014. The Portales News-Tribune caught up with McAfoos to see how he’s enjoying his retirement.

link McAfoos

So what have you been doing since you retired?

Doing anything I want really, but mostly I have more time to spend with my wife and to shoot my air guns.

Do you still stop by the office to talk to officers and hang out?

I still stop by to say hi to the officers, and see how the guys are doing. I’ve made some great relationships there and its great to keep those going.

Do you have any plans for the summer?

No, not at this time, but in the fall me and my family will go back to Philadelphia, see the sights and spend some time there looking around.

What’s the best part of being retired?

I can do what I want, when I want to do it. If I want to go out, I can; if I want to stay in, I can. Whatever I want.

What do you miss the most about the job?

I miss the people, but not the job. Not just the people I worked with but the people in the community. The relationships I’ve formed with people over the years helped me solve crimes because people wanted to talk to me when they didn’t want to talk to anyone else.

— Compiled by Staff Writer Derek Major