NEWPORT — Newport Police Detective Sgt. Stephen “Alex” Lee has been sworn in as Newport’s new interim police chief, taking over as head of the town’s police department from outgoing interim chief Barry Hunter, a veteran New Hampshire police officer who led the department for the past six months after former chief Brent Wilmot left Newport to take the top police job in Claremont.

Lee, 40, joined the Newport force three and a half years ago from the Claremont Police Department, where he had also been a detective. Prior to that Lee had been trooper with the New Hampshire State Police for 13 years.

A Massachusetts native, Lee, of Croydon, said his priority for the 17-person, approximately $1.5 million budget department will be officer retention and filling the two current vacancies on the 12-member force in addition to “increased community engagement,” which he said fell off during the pandemic.

Lee's appointment as interim chief is for one year, “at which point they will decide whether they want to reappoint me,” said Lee, who noted his first task will be to prepare for the department’s budget hearing before the selectboard on Thursday evening.

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