By Ann Baldelli
Published on 1/6/2008 in TheDay.com

Just four more weeks and David Erskine will officially retire as Stonington's chief of police.

The 63-year-old Erskine will work his last day Feb. 1, ending a 42-year, five-month career as a law officer in Stonington.

The affable Erskine, who was a standout athlete at Stonington High School and is still a regular attendee at high school football and basketball games, is leaving his post but not the town.

He and wife Marcia (they went to Stonington High together where they were sweethearts) will travel to Florida soon after he steps down, but the chief says he plans to be back in plenty of time to play spring golf here. His plan is to get a part-time position at a local golf course and when he's not working, hit the links.

Acting Deputy Chief Darren Stewart was named last June to replace Erskine when he leaves, and the chief says Stewart is well equipped to handle the job.

“Darren is going to do great,” he says.

As for Erskine, there are no regrets about retiring. Both the department and town have grown during his tenure, and he is ready to leave them in the hands of his capable officers.

All of the credit for that goes to Dave Erskine, who has been a model leader.

He's one of just a handful of old-time cops in the area who are still around. Guys who joined the local police department fresh out of high school, and who have worked their way up through the ranks to the top.

In Erskine's case, he actually worked at Electric Boat for three years after graduating from high school, before joining the police department in 1965.

The fact that at EB workers went out on strike twice during his three-year tenure made Erskine uneasy, what with a new wife and a baby on the way. So when he ran into former longtime First Selectman James Spellman in Mystic one day, and Spellman mentioned there were open positions in the police department, Erskine signed up.

He's been serving the town ever since.

People who know him well and those who encounter him professionally will tell you that David Erskine is a gentleman. He always treats people with respect, and for that reason, they listen to him and like him.

He's also a wealth of information. Like a walking, talking local history book.

Ask him a question and he'll answer it with a historical reference. Perhaps something like, “That was the spring of '65, just when Interstate 95 came through Stonington.”

He can tell you when the old Borough School burned down and when Olde Mistick Village went up.

That may not be typical information that a police chief needs to know, but in Stonington, it's a trait that makes folks really appreciate their police chief. He's a local guy and proud of it.

Once he settles into his retirement routine, Erskine hopes to find time to read and research more local history. He'll also spend time working on the high school's athletic hall of fame committee, the town's tricentennial scholarship committee, as treasurer of the Wequetequock Fire Department, and become more active in the Lions Club.

He likes to walk four or five miles each day, and visit the library.

He also wants to research the town's police department, which was established in 1937, and get the full story on a constable who was shot in town in 1922 when bootlegging was big business.

Dave Erskine has plenty to do. He will keep himself busy. But he will be missed. And Stonington, well, it's all the better for his almost 43 years of service. •

Ann Baldelli is The Day's associate editorial page editor.