Date: Fri 14-Jun-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

police-chief-Lysaght

Full Text:

Police Commission Picks Bristol Captain As New Chief

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

The Newtown Police Commission has selected a current captain with the Bristol

Police Department to become Newtown's new police chief.

Following an executive session June 9, Police Commission members voted 4-to-1

to hire James E. Lysaght, Jr, 47, to become Newtown's top law enforcement

official. Mr Lysaght (pronounced lie-sight ) replaces Michael DeJoseph who

retired as police chief in March.

Voting in favor of hiring Mr Lysaght were Police Commission members Chairman

Carol Mattegat, William Meyer, James Reilly and Gerald Frawley. Vice Chairman

Robert Connor, Jr, didn't attend the 15-minute session in the Mary Hawley Room

of Edmond Town Hall.

Mrs Mattegat said Wednesday Mr Lysaght has accepted the Police Commission's

conditional offer of employment. He will be undergoing the standard rounds of

medical and psychological testing which are given to each officer hired by the

Newtown Police Department, she said.

Since Mr DeJoseph left town in late March, Captain Michael Fekete has been

serving as the department's acting chief of police. But Mr Fekete was

scheduled to begin an extended medical leave June 13 for surgery.

Until Mr Lysaght is seated as police chief, Lieutenant Owen Carney will serve

as an acting police captain and, in effect, will be Newtown's acting police

chief, Mrs Mattegat said.

Besides Lt Carney, the police department's other lieutenant is David Lydem.

Until Mr Lysaght starts work as police chief, the police department will

operate with Lt Lydem as its sole lieutenant, Mrs Mattegat said.

In the coming days, the town and Mr Lysaght will be working out some of the

details of his employment as police chief, Mrs Mattegat said.

Mrs Mattegat declined to disclose Mr Lysaght's salary. Such information will

be available in the near future, she said.

Mr Lysaght was one of five finalists for the police chief's post. The Police

Commission reviewed 118 resumes in seeking a new chief.

Mrs Mattegat described Mr Lysaght as "a very, very nice person" who is

family-minded.

"We like him very much. I think the community will enjoy him. He's very

pleasant," she said.

"I'm delighted and looking forward to getting to work as soon as possible, Mr

Lysaght said by telephone Wednesday." He said he hopes to start work in

Newtown in early to mid-July after transferring projects he has been working

on to other officers in the Bristol department.

In his capacity as captain in Bristol, Mr Lysaght serves as second-in-command

in that police department, functioning as the deputy chief.

The 24-year veteran of the Bristol department said "I was looking for career

development" and so applied for the Newtown chief's post.

"I was looking for a good town to move my family to" Mr Lysaght said of his

plans to move to Newtown with his wife and three children. Mr Lysaght has been

married to Linda Lorenson Lysaght for 19 years. He is active in youth sports

and scouting.

Mr Lysaght has a bachelors degree from the University of Connecticut in

political science and history, a masters degree in public administration from

the University of New Haven, plus three semesters of law school.

A former patrol sergeant, he has also worked as a detective, and a lieutenant

shift commander. He has a background in budgeting, purchasing and police

training.

Mr Lysaght has been the second in command at the Bristol department since

1990. Currently in charge of Bristol's patrol division, Mr Lysaght supervises

84 officers and civilians in a police department that has 114 sworn officers.

Newtown's department has 36 officers. Bristol is a city of 62,000 while

Newtown has about 22,000 residents.

Mr DeJoseph resigned his post to take a job as technical services manager for

the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Virginia.