Date: Fri 16-Feb-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

police-chief-commission

Full Text:

Police Commission To Begin Search For New Chief

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Police Commission members are making plans to find a replacement for Police

Chief Michael DeJoseph. The police chief announced last week he will retire

from the police force to take a newly-created post with the International

Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in Alexandria, Virginia.

The town's elected five-member Police Commission is empowered to appoint the

chief of police. Members are Chairman Carol Mattegat, Vice Chairman Robert

Connor, Jr, Gerald Frawley, William Meyer, and James Reilly.

After Chief DeJoseph has departed, but before his successor is at work here,

Police Captain Michael Fekete will serve as the town's interim police chief.

Chief DeJoseph's last day of work is March 22.

Chief DeJoseph said how the Police Commission plans to fill his upcoming

vacancy is strictly up to the commission.

Mrs Mattegat said Tuesday commission members expect to meet next week to start

discussing the search for a new police chief. Members will discuss what they

are looking for in the new police department head, determining the

requirements for the job, she said. Commission members will also be deciding

where to advertise for the post, she said.

After responses arrive, the commission will meet more often and conduct

interviews with applicants for the postion. Mrs Mattegat said it's unclear how

long it will be before the town hires a new police chief.

The Police Commission encourages town police department members to apply for

the police chief position, she said.

The commission plans to offer a salary range to the new police chief which is

comparable to salaries of police chiefs in other area towns. Hiring a person

to fill the vacancy requires a majority vote of the commission.

Mrs Mattegat noted this is the second time she will be working as a Police

Commission member to hire a new chief. When she became a commission member

eight years ago, one of her first tasks was to help hire Chief DeJoseph to

replace former police chief Lou Marchese, she recalled. Mr Frawley was the

commission chairman at the time.

Chief DeJoseph leaves the police department after 29 years of service, more

than eight of which he served as police chief. He will begin a new job on

April 1 as manager of technical assistance for the IACP. The IACP is a

non-profit organization formed in 1893. It has approximately 14,000 members

from the world's law enforcement community.

A native of Bridgeport, Chief DeJoseph joined the Newtown police after serving

in the US Army military intelligence branch. He was hired as the town's fifth

police officer and worked his way up through the ranks, eventually becoming

chief.