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| Jill Kaiser Dion, Editor | April 22, 2004 |
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| Mello cop era begins | ||||||||
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| Milford has entered a new era in policing with the recent appointment of the city's ninth police chief, Keith Mello. |
| Times are different in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, city leaders emphasized during Mello's swearing-in ceremony Thursday night. While Mello's predecessors were tops in their field and each played a role in creating a great police department, the challenge for Mello is to usher the department into a changing 21st century, Milford officials said. "To be better than anyone else, you have to work harder than anyone else," Mello told a City Hall packed with police officers, police chiefs, State Police officers and representatives of federal law enforcement agencies. "We will work hard to meet those expectations," he said. The new chief talked about changing needs and evolving strategies in light of terrorist threats that have confronted the nation since the Sept. 11 attacks. The city has tackled new threats head-on, Mello said, noting the joint efforts between local fire and police crews and other city departments. "We can choose to be afraid, or we can choose to be ready," he said. "In this community, we choose to be ready." Mello, who starts his post at a salary of $85,900, plans to focus on training to help the police operate efficiently and effectively. "And we will continue to focus on our core values: respect, dignity, compassion and integrity," he said. He said he also would concentrate on recruiting and retaining quality police candidates, providing a healthy work environment, offering community services and staying abreast of innovative strategies. "I am not a status quo kind of person," said Mello, who steadily climbed the ranks to become police chief. "As strong as we are today, we can be stronger. We will continue to grow." Mello, 44, entered the Milford Police Academy 23 years ago. He started his career as a patrol officer in 1981, working as a K-9 handler and a SWAT team member. He was promoted to sergeant in 1988, to lieutenant in 1992 and to captain in the detective division in 1993. In 1997, he graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va. He also has earned a master's degree in business administration. Mello's sons, Michael and Mathew, joined him on stage during Thursday's ceremony. Michael, also a police officer, pinned the new chief's badge on his father. The Police Commission announced in March that Mello had been selected to take over the post vacated when former Police Chief Thomas Flaherty retired. The commission had been considering Mello and three other internal candidates - Acting Police Chief William Schultz and Captains Chris Edson and Steven Fournier. Inception in 1915The Milford Police Department has grown tremendously since its inception shortly after the turn of the century. |
| İMilford Mirror 2004 |