Jeanna Duerscherl | The Roanoke Times

Salem police Chief James Bryant is retiring Nov. 1, and he let his staff know in a PowerPoint presentation. Bryant said he is ready to spend more time traveling with his wife.

Salem police Chief James Bryant has frequently described himself as a man of few words.

So it seemed fitting that instead of giving a speech, he used a short PowerPoint presentation Monday to announce his retirement to his staff.

The presentation began with a question.

"What is the most asked question in the Salem Police Department?"

The answer: "When is Chief Bryant retiring?"

Bryant had told his staff four years ago that he'd retire by the end of 2010.

Monday, he gave them a more specific answer: Nov. 1, 2009.

"They were stunned," he said.

Bryant, 64, said he has accomplished everything he set out to do in his 14 years as police chief and is ready to spend more time traveling with his wife and riding his all-terrain vehicle.

"I'm just there at this pinnacle, and I'm going to step aside," he said.

City Manager Kevin Boggess will appoint Bryant's successor, but no timetable has been set, city spokesman Mike Stevens said.

Bryant's retirement comes almost 43 years to the day after he began his career at the Salem Police Department as a patrol officer.

On his first day of duty, he was put on the streets with instructions to buy his own service weapon, he said. He bought a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson, which he still owns.

The cruiser he drove had no air conditioning, and the dispatcher was the police chief's secretary.

Three years into his career, a fellow officer was killed during a shootout. In 1976, another officer died while on duty.

Bryant said their deaths made him realize the importance of being supportive to his colleagues and providing officers with good training, issues that he said he made a priority as chief.

Another life-shaping experience was his four years in the active-duty Marine Corps and 19 years in the Marine Reserves. He started in the Marines as a private and retired from the reserves in 1995 as a sergeant major. It was with the Marines that he learned to be a leader, he said.

By the time he was appointed chief in 1995, he had been a detective, patrol sergeant, detective sergeant, services lieutenant, detective chief and deputy chief.

He'd also investigated countless crimes, including the theft of hobby horses from a carousel at Lakeside Amusement Park.

As chief, he oversaw the $5 million renovation of the Salem Police Department and the construction and opening of Salem's animal control shelter.

He also equipped the department's patrol cars with laptops and cameras and issued Glock handguns to officers in place of another model that they'd had problems with.

In 1997, the police department was accredited by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission and has remained accredited since then. The department has 66 sworn officers.

He also started a citizens police academy in 1999.

Bryant's colleagues said they'll miss his work ethic.

"He is a very professional individual," Deputy Chief Jeff Dudley said. "He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it done."

Tom Turner, director of campus safety at Roanoke College, said the chief's open-door policy helped foster a good relationship between the college and the police department.

"It's been enormously beneficial to us," Turner said.