Colchester Police Department marks 50 years of service

Fifty years ago, the Colchester Police Department got its start with two officers and one cruiser patrolling the town.

On Sunday, town and state officials, police officers and residents gathered at the police department to celebrate its golden anniversary. Almost a dozen former officers — many who served in the department's early days — also attended the open house and barbecue. Gov. Phil Scott and Public Safety Commissioner Tom Anderson attended too after greeting a team of water rescue experts returning to Vermont who helped hurricane victims in Houston, Texas. 

Despite its humble beginnings in 1967, Colchester Police Department now boasts 28 sworn officers, three seasonal officers, a K-9 officer Tazor, eight communications specialists and two records staff members. 

While the department's primary mission is to protect and serve community members, Colchester Police Chief Jennifer Morrison said officers are an integral part of the town.

"We are a leader in this community," Morrison said. "We get out and we lead by example. We get out and we take part in all kinds of activities that the town has going. And, we absolutely are a leader in service above self and doing for others." 

Morrison, who has served as the town's police chief for just over four years, is the town's third police chief. Her predecessor, Chuck Kirker, served with the police department from 1970 to 2013. 

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When he started, Kirker said Colchester had about 5,000 residents and the most frequent crime was burglary from unoccupied summer homes along Lake Champlain.

"At the time, there was the chief, two patrol officers, a part-time officer, and I, in essence, was the fourth full-time person on the department," Kirker said. 

Kirker said he spent his first few months on the force riding along with a more experienced officer until he could attend the police academy in the summer. Upon graduating from the police academy, Kirker returned to the Colchester Police Department and said he found that at least half the officers had resigned. 

"It was basically the chief and myself to patrol the town, and I learned how big this town is and, whereas it wasn't as busy as it is in these days, it was a long way from one side of Colchester to the other if you had an emergency call and you needed to get there," Kirker said. 

Kirker said one turning point for the department he remembers was in 1976 when the Selectboard heard from a number of citizens saying they weren't seeing enough police cars around the town and that "crime was rampant." A study committee ultimately found that the department could benefit from hiring more officers.

Kirker said the crime trends were not as bad as the community felt they were at that time, but he said there was a reduction in crime after the department hired more officers. 

"That was kind of a defining moment as far as the town, and more importantly the Selectboard, seeing that maybe we should trust the police department," Kirker said.  

Lt. Doug Allen, who has served at the police department for almost 34 years, said he has also seen the department change to meet the town's needs during his tenure. Two of the biggest changes he said he saw was the implementation of a marine unit 25 years ago and having several officers devoted to serving in Colchester's schools. 

Allen said one of the biggest defining moments for the department during his time was when a Colchester police detective was discovered to be taking guns, drugs and money out of the evidence locker that the detective solely oversaw. The now-former detective, Tyler Kinney, is currently serving a four-year federal prison sentence at a correctional institute in Morgantown, West Virginia. 

"Chief Morrison said at that time that we were going to come back stronger than when we started, and I think that's very true," Allen said. "Our evidence program and our property tracking is state-of-the-art. It's been a model for other departments in the state. I really do think we are a stronger department now than we were just a couple years ago." 

The Colchester Police Department these days faces many of the same challenges that other departments across the states face in their own communities — hiring troubles, the opiate crisis and interacting more often with people facing mental health challenges. Morrison said she hopes the department will continue to be a leader and serve the community with the same passion that defined the service of those who served the town during the first 50 years.

"I honestly hope we continue to do exactly what we've been doing, which is slow and steady, incrementally growing and finding new, more creative ways to serve the public," Morrison said. "It's been a really great first 50 years, and I'm optimistic that the next 50 will be just as good." 

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizMurrayBFP.