Mayor to Reveal His Pick for Deputy Police Chief Today

Editor's Note: Check back with Middletown Patch later this afternoon to discover who Mayor Drew has chosen as the city's next deputy chief of police. And sign up now for our breaking news alerts to get notifications of news as it happens.

The mayor will offer his recommendation for deputy chief of police this afternoon.

Middletown's number two administrative spot in the police department has been vacant since acting deputy chief Patrick McMahon was terminated by Mayor Dan Drew last February for conduct unbecoming a police officer.

Late last September, the personnel review committee, comprised of council members Hope Kasper, Deborah Kleckowski and Mary Bartolotta, approved a change in the job description of deputy chief, after Chief William McKenna's requested it.

The amendment from requiring a bachelor’s degree and five years of command experience to five years supervisory experience and job experience now may be substituted for a college degree.

In November, the Common Council approved a 3 percent increase in the unfilled deputy chief's salary. The salary increase, says Mayor Daniel T. Drew, was entirely motivated by encouraging a current, qualified police officer to fill the deputy chief of police position internally.

The last Middletown Police Acting Deputy Chief Gregory Sneed retired April 12, 2011, to take a job as associate director of public safety at Eastern Connecticut State University.

“We have a very large department that is growing and it’s expanding and it’s taking on a number of a responsibilities,” says Drew.

In November, the mayor said, “There is an order on the books that requires a director to be paid above a deputy director," Drew said. "We would like to have an internal search within the department for a deputy chief of police."

Interestingly, the mayor said, the current deputy chief salary was designed for a candidate to come in from outside the department after they had careers elsewhere. “So all of our captains right now make close to what the deputy chief salary had been.”

The deputy chief of police salary moved from ($33.21 to $49.16) to ($39.40 to $58.30) hourly.

The salary increases were made, the mayor says, to encourage current, qualified officers, to apply for the deputy chief of police open position.

“That means the captain, who had the salary close to what the deputy chief’s former salary was, could work a little bit of overtime and far exceed the deputy chief’s salary," Drew said. "It’s one of the only ways to provide internal captains, who have the experience within the department and know the community, to apply."

There are a number of incentives to having an internal candidate, the mayor said. “The rapport with the community, the knowledge of the community, the rapport with the officers … The chief and I are in absolute agreement on that,” Drew says.

Drew will announce his choice at 2:30 p.m. in the police department community room. 

 The personnel review committee meets Tuesday evening and the common council must ultimately approve the recommended candidate.

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