Editor's Note: This report updates and expands on web-exclusive information that was published at newtownbee.com on January 25.

Choosing to hire from within Newtown Police Department, the Police Commission on Tuesday night named Lt David Kullgren as Newtown’s next chief of police.

“I was hoping this was something I’d only have to do once as a police commissioner,” Police Commission Chairman Joel Faxon said, referencing hiring Police Chief James Viadero six years ago. “But this is the hard work the voters voted us in to do.”

Viadero is departing in the coming days for a high profile law enforcement leadership post with the state’s Inspector General’s Office.

Faxon said the commission deliberated “significantly” and the “time had come to make a choice.”

“An internal candidate is a good one,” said Faxon.

Faxon said Viadero’s departure for a job with the state left “big shoes to fill,” and there were “many qualified applicants” that made choosing the chief “a difficult decision.”

“The really high-level caliber of all the applicants really speaks to Kullgren’s qualifications,” said Commissioner Joan Plouffe.

Police Commissioner Brian Budd said both decisions — the one six years ago to hire Viadero and the call to hire Kullgren — were “difficult,” and the other candidates had been well-respected and high quality.

“A lot of thinking went into this,” said Budd. Kullgren “brought so many intangibles, that helped make the decision.”

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said the Police Commission conducted its search for a new police chief well and he was pleased that he had been allowed to sit in on the interviews.

“I have to say this bodes well for police work across Connecticut; there were some really great candidates,” said Rosenthal. “Any of them could have been competent chiefs in their own right. And I think the commission landed in the right spot [with hiring Kullgren].”

Rosenthal pledged to work with and support Kullgren in his new role.

“I think he’ll take a department that’s in a great place and make it better,” said Rosenthal. “I’m happy for [Kullgren], happy for his family, and happy for the men and women of the Newtown Police Department.”

Kullgren is the department’s administrative services bureau commander. A Newtown resident, he has served Newtown PD for over 20 years.

“I look forward to continuing to work with the men and women in the Newtown Police Department and serving the community to the best of my ability,” said Kullgren. “I appreciate the opportunity here. As I said in my interview, I promise when each of you look back at this six years from now, you will still be happy with your decision.”

Kullgren said as the new chief he is “looking to emulate” Viadero. He said that he wouldn’t have been where he was “without six years under” Viadero, and that serving under Viadero “meant the world” to him.

“The men and women of the department all look up to [Viadero],” said Kullgren. “He laid the foundation and I look forward to building on it. It will be an honor and a challenge. They broke the mold when they made [Viadero].”

Police Commissioner Neil Chaudhary said emulating Viadero “is the best way forward.”

Among Kullgren’s accomplishments within the department is bringing in new technology over the past 10-15 years, including moving the department’s accident report system from “pen and paper to 3D imaging.” He created a drone unit that has “become a regional asset.”

Kullgren also brought online scheduling and time bank management to the department.

Regionally, he has worked with a team from the Fairfield County Police Officer Association to help create an online recertification portal during the pandemic. Officers can now do recertification training online instead of getting “hundreds of cops in a gym.”

He also helped form the Fairfield County Blue Plan, which provides mutual aid between departments.

Viadero announced his departure on December 7. As chief inspector at the Office of the Inspector General, he will be responsible for investigating police shootings, “a very important role that we fully support him in,” said Faxon.

Viadero said he was “confident and honored” that someone from the department had been named the new chief.

He called Kullgren “the perfect fit, and I have utmost confidence” in the lieutenant. “When I look back and see him sitting in my chair, I’ll know that I’ve left the department in good hands,” Viadero added.

The departing chief also said that he had a “lot of leeway” in starting his new position, so he intends to make sure “everything is in place” when he leaves.

“There’s a lot of transitional things I want to do to hand things off to [Kullgren],” Viadero said. “I’m not going to flee in the night.”

The transition of Kullgren into his new role as chief is expected to be happening following a swearing-in ceremony being planned for February 2 or 3.

Faxon said the department still has some hiring to do, such as filling a captain position and some other positions within the department. Captain Christopher Vanghele recently announced he would be resigning his post in Newtown. Vanghele has been hired as the new police chief in Plainville and is due to assume that role in the coming week.

Reporter Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.