HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — When Haley Thompson isn’t playing with her dog, Sophie, and tending to her growing plant collection, she’s dedicating her time to learning and serving in the criminal justice system.

What You Need To Know 

Officer Haley Thompson joined the Hendersonville Police Department this year

Thompson’s uncle, Officer Dennie Quay Enevold, was killed while in the line of duty in 1981

HPD recently placed a memorial at their station to honor his sacrifice

As a new officer of Hendersonville Police Department, Thompson feels that she is making her family and herself proud. 

“It was hard to get to where I am,” Thompson said. 

However, there is one individual she thinks would be very proud and helped lead her to the station she is at today. 

“If my uncle was here, I think he’d be proud too,” Thompson said. 

Her uncle, Officer Dennie Quay Enevold, was killed in the line of duty in 1981.

Thompson was born in 1996. 

She never had the opportunity to meet him.

“It does bring me comfort in knowing that somebody in my lineage was selfless enough to serve his community,” Thompson said. “That’s what I'm striving to be — more selfless every day.”       

A memorial used to reside in city hall, but in 2021, the town moved it to the Hendersonville Police Department, where a portion of the lobby is dedicated to honoring his memory.

After Thompson saw the memorial, she decided this would be the right fit for her and reached out to the chief.

Working as an officer is something she has thought about for a long time.

“I found this path on my own, but having that history, it makes me cognizant of, you know, I need to worry about my safety and do good in this career,” she said.

Thompson was a victim of a crime when she was 17. 

“They probably saved my life when they got there when they did, and that gave me a new outlook on law enforcement and the criminal justice field,” she said.

Her ultimate goal is to become a criminal investigator. She currently spends her days off working toward an online master's degree in criminal justice. 

“I don’t know how I do it, but I do,” Thompson laughed.