Police Celebrate Three Promotions On June 28

By Andrew Gorosko

Police Chief Michael Kehoe, Captain Joe Rios, and Sergeant Darlene Froehlich took the oaths of office for their new police positions in ceremonies Thursday, June 28, at Town Hall South.

Several dozen members of the families and the friends of the three officers attended the event in the building’s conference room, as did Police Commission members.

Police Commission members in May named Mr Kehoe to the post of police chief, giving the town its first regular chief of police in almost two years.

After commission members placed former police chief James E. Lysaght, Jr, on administrative leave in July 1999, they named Mr Kehoe to run the police department. Following Mr Lysaght’s termination in March 2000, commission members appointed Mr Kehoe “acting chief” in April 2000. Mr Kehoe had served as acting chief until May 16, when commission members named him police chief.

Mr Kehoe, who started work as a patrol officer in 1978, served as the department’s youth officer and school resource officer. The Police Commission promoted him to the rank of sergeant in July 1997. He was promoted to captain in March 1999.

Mr Kehoe holds a master’s degree in business administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration from Western Connecticut State University, and an associate’s degree in police science administration from Tunxis Community College.

Chief Kehoe, 45, lives with his wife and two sons in Watertown.

The town is in the process of negotiating a labor contract with Chief Kehoe. His current salary is $72,500 annually.

 

Captain

Police Commission members June 12 named Mr Rios to the post of police captain, making him the second-in-command at the police department.

Since May 2000, Mr Rios, who had held the rank of sergeant, had been serving as the department’s acting captain.

Captain Rios, 38, who is married, lives in the area. His current salary is $66,600 annually.

As the executive officer of the police department, Capt Rios heads the department’s operations bureau, which oversees both the patrol division and the detective bureau.

As captain, he is involved in department planning, organization, and coordination, and handles staffing and budgetary matters, plus inspection duties. The captain also is involved in internal discipline. Capt Rios will answer directly to Chief Kehoe and will run the police department when the chief is absent.

The Police Commission hired Capt Rios in April 1990. In 1993, Capt Rios served as an investigator on the state police’s Statewide Narcotics Task Force. In 1994, under former police chief Michael DeJoseph, Capt Rios became the town’s first school resource officer.

The Police Commission promoted Mr Rios to the rank of sergeant in January 1997.

Sergeant

In May, less than three months after she was promoted from police patrol officer to detective, the Police Commission promoted Ms Froehlich from detective to the rank of sergeant.

Ms Froehlich is a 17-year police department veteran.

Ms Froehlich worked as an acting sergeant from May 15 to June 12, when she assumed the rank of sergeant, after a sergeant’s vacancy opened.

Ms Froehlich, 42, has been a patrol officer since 1984. From 1980 to 1984, she worked as a town police radio dispatcher. She is the first woman to have joined the Newtown Police Department, was the first female detective, and is now be the first female supervisor. A divorced mother, Ms Froehlich has two sons, Joe, 14, and James, 7. Her annual salary as sergeant is $52,297.