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Two long-time members of the Trumbull police department, with a combined 62 years of service in town, were sworn-in Monday as the department’s new Deputy Chiefs.
Ronald Kirby, who joined the force in 1985, and Thomas Savarese III, who joined in 1982, were promoted Monday at a ceremony at town hall.
“A lot of changes are happening at the police department and they are good changes,” First Selectman Tim Herbst said at the ceremony, “under leadership of a team of managers that will really lead department forward in a positive way and make it a 21st century law enforcement agency.”
Police Chief Michael Lombardo, who started his post in January, said he was proud to be part of the ceremony.
“It’s with great pleasure that we are promoting two highly distinguished police officers,” Lombardo said.
Deputy Chief Kirby has served in the department’s patrol division and, in 2002, was assigned as Commander of the Southwest SWAT, which serves six communities. In 2005, he was named Emergency Management Director, a position he still holds.
Deputy Chief Savarese has also served in the department’s patrol division and, in 2008, was assigned to the Administrative Division of the department.
Police Commission Chair Jack Testani said that Chief Lombardo’s example of instituting a new leadership strategy in the department was the catalyst for the promotions of new deputy chiefs. The department now has three deputy chiefs, including Glenn Byrnes. The department had some major retirements at the end of 2014, including Chief Thomas Kiely and Deputy Chief Michael Harry.
“One thing that really resonates with me is that they both conveyed a feeling that each and every day the thing they look forward to most is putting the uniform on and coming to work, representing the Trumbull Police department,” Testani said of Kirby and Savarese. “Both conveyed it’s like the first day they became a police officer.”
Herbst said he was asked to thing of one word to describe each of the new deputy chiefs. For Savarese, Herbst said the word that comes to mind is “integrity.”
“When someone leads an internal affairs organization in a police department, they must have integrity,” Herbst said. “In my five and a half years in office I have not met one person who has a bad word to say about Tom Savarese.”
For Kirby, Herbst said the word that comes to mind is “solid.”
“If I had to do it in one term, I would say he is a cop’s cop,” Herbst said. “He is proud to wear the uniform and proud to do the job.
“It’s rewarding to see two outstanding police officers work hard and climb the ranks,” Herbst said. “We have families and parents here and I know how proud you all must feel. We’re very proud to have them as members of the police force.”