Newtown Man To Head

Redding’s New Police Department

By Andrew Gorosko

A Newtown man, who has worked as a Ridgefield police lieutenant, has become Redding’s first chief of police.

On July 1, Douglas S. Fuchs, 36, of Newtown became Redding’s first police chief, as that town’s law enforcement unit makes the transition from a constabulary that was supervised by a sergeant resident state trooper to an independent municipal police department.

Redding, which is adjacent to the Poverty Hollow section of Newtown, has an area of about 32 square miles and a population of about 8,300. Ridgefield, which is slightly larger than Redding in area, has almost three times the population of Redding.

As Redding’s new police chief, Mr Fuchs will earn approximately $78,000 annually. He has a three-year contract with Redding to serve as its top law enforcement officer. The Redding selectmen chose Mr Fuchs from a pool of more than 70 job candidates. Last February, Redding residents approved creating the post of police chief to head an independent police department.

For several months in the early 1990s, when financial problems caused Ridgefield to temporarily reduce the size of its police department, Mr Fuchs worked as a Newtown police patrol officer. He later returned as a policeman in Ridgefield after that town’s financial problems eased.

 Of his new responsibilities in Redding, Mr Fuchs said, “It’s a great time to be involved with the organization.”

“We have a great opportunity to mold this [organization], an opportunity in the way we want to go,” he said of the new department’s formative period.

“It’s very exciting time to be involved with the Redding Police Department. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Mr Fuchs said. “It’s a great opportunity…I’m very much looking forward to it.”

In formulating policies and procedures for the organization, Redding officials are reviewing the state police’s system on various law enforcement topics, such as police records management, incident reporting, and prisoner detention.

“Basically, we’re taking a police department and building it from the ground up,” he said. Redding’s law enforcement, radio communications, and animal control functions will be consolidated in the new police department, he said.

The police chief’s duties will include budgeting, plus the formulation of rules, regulations, and policies and procedures. Mr Fuchs said he hopes to get new policies and procedures in place within one year. Redding has no town police commission. The new police department will be under the broad supervision of the first selectman and the Board of Selectmen.

The Redding Police Department is authorized to have up to 13 members. Besides the chief, there are four corporals and eight patrol officers. The Ridgefield Police Department, from which Mr Fuchs came, has 39 police officers. Besides the chief, that department has one major, three captains, five lieutenants, and five sergeants, plus patrol officers. While at the Ridgefield department, Mr Fuchs served a lieutenant on the overnight patrol shift. He worked as a lieutenant there for six years.

During recent months, citizens’ complaints to police in Redding have often concerned speeding motorists, Mr Fuchs said. Redding police will soon start a traffic safety initiative, in which the department will obtain a radar-based speed display device that shows motorists how fast they are driving.

Mr Fuchs said he will foster positive interaction between Redding police and other area police departments to address the problems that they all face.

Mr Fuchs said he would educate himself about the needs and wants of residents, businesses, and the community-at-large in Redding.

Redding police are very excited about having their own law enforcement organization, Mr Fuchs said, noting he expects that the new department will engender higher morale.

Having an independent police department will mean that Redding will have a better law enforcement chain of command, Mr Fuchs said. Redding police officers will develop a sense of pride in the new organization as it evolves, he said.

“Redding is very fortunate to have found exactly the candidate we envisioned when we created this position. Doug Fuchs has been an exemplary police officer, and we are confident of his ability to become the same kind of chief,” Redding First Selectman Natalie Ketcham said.

 Mr Fuchs graduated from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in legal studies. He is pursuing a master’s degree in justice and law administration from Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. Mr Fuchs received the Ridgefield Police Department’s exceptional service award in 2000 and 2002.

Mr Fuchs and his wife Diane have two children, Rachel, 41/2 , and Zachary, 21/2 .