New police chief takes charge

#Middlebury #Police

Left to right, Middlebury’s Acting Police Chief Patrick Deely; the police department’s new administrative assistant, Joseph Von Culin; and the department’s new administrative lieutenant, Ronald Hunt. (Marjorie Needham photo)

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

The Middlebury Police Department has a new acting police chief following former Chief Fran Dabbo’s August 20 retirement. Former Sgt. Patrick Deely now leads the force he has served on for 14 years.

That’s not all that’s new at the department. Ronald Hunt, formerly a sergeant, has taken on the newly created position of administrative lieutenant, and Joseph Von Culin has been hired as the new administrative assistant. In addition, new firearms have been ordered, and dash cams are scheduled to be installed in the department’s cruisers in November.

Chief Deely said he loves serving on the Middlebury police force. “I love the character of the town and the quality of the people,” he said. “They are very supportive of their police department and the community.”

Deely was the department’s highest ranking officer before moving into the chief’s position. Before coming to Middlebury in 2008, he worked for the Waterbury Police Department, starting there in 1984. While there, he served in the criminal investigation bureau, the vice and intelligence bureau, the community policing unit and as supervisor on the narcotics team. He was promoted to detective, sergeant and then lieutenant.

Asked how he got into law enforcement, he replied by picking up a framed photograph of his father, retired Police Lieutenant Robert Deely in his law enforcement uniform. He said his dad retired from the Waterbury PD after 38 years of service. The chief’s son, Mike, also went into law enforcement. He is a sergeant for the Naugatuck PD.

Sergeant Ronald Hunt also got a promotion; he moved into the newly created position of administrative lieutenant. He has served in Middlebury since 2016. Before that, he served with the Naugatuck PD from 1995 to 2017 and left there with the rank of detective lieutenant. In his new position, he will serve as second in command in the department and will be responsible for a number of administrative tasks, including compliance with the Police Accountability Act and use of the department’s NexGen reporting software. Also on his long list of core responsibilities is responding to inquiries from within and without the department.

The new administrative assistant, Joseph Von Culin, graduated from Lycoming College in 2020. He fills the position most recently held by his mother, Amy Von Culin, who has moved out of state. Deely said he and Lt. Hunt chose Joseph for the job because he was the best person they interviewed. Deely also said that Barbara Whitaker in the first selectman’s office was essential to the hiring process; she weeded out applicants unsuited for the job and sent them incredible choices.

New firearms have been ordered because the current firearms are 10 years old. Deely said they get more use than people might realize because officers have to go through mandated firearms training three times a year to remain certified.

Deely said the current firearms are Smith and Wesson 40-caliber semi-automatics. The new firearms will be manufactured by Sig Sauer in New Hampshire and will be 9 mm semi-automatics.

There was no money in the budget for new firearms, but former police commissioner Ken Heidkamp happened to be visiting while the need for new firearms and the lack of funds for them were being discussed. Heidkamp, a very active member of the police commission before he and his wife relocated to Southbury, generously donated $15,000 to cover the cost of the new firearms. Heidkamp’s donation was recognized at a September Board of Selectmen meeting when First Selectman Edward B. St. John shared a letter of thanks he sent to Heidkamp on behalf of the town.

Lt. Hunt said the new dash cams required by the Police Accountability Act are scheduled to be installed in mid-November. The newspaper looks forward to reporting on their installation.