Less than a year after being appointed, the police chief in the city of Plattsburgh has retired. The last search took three years and this one begins with a new mayor set to be elected.
In December 2023 the Plattsburgh Common Council approved the appointment of Captain Peter Mitchell as Police Chief, effective at the beginning of this year. Last Friday, Mayor Chris Rosenquest announced that Chief Mitchell had submitted his retirement paperwork after serving 25 years with the department. The Democrat expects similar problems finding a replacement as the last search.
“The same challenges that we’ve seen, you know, in terms of people wanting the position, people who are qualified for this position. Unfortunately, New York state has a very strict and stringent rules on who can take the position. They need to be a certified police officer within the state as well as meet the minimum qualifications for the job title,” Rosenquest explains. “So, I’m sure that there are people out there but it’s a very small pool of people.”
Mayor Rosenquest is not running for re-election and has met with both candidates seeking to replace him to discuss next steps.
“I let them know that my goal is to find a qualified candidate that not only meets, obviously meets the minimum job qualifications but also commands respect of the department and can create leadership independent of outside influence, independent of political strife that we’ve seen in the city regarding this position specifically. But really just trying to find somebody who can come in and command the department much like Peter Mitchell did,” said Rosenquest. “I’m trying to, as best as possible, fill that gap before a new administration comes in. But I think fundamentally the goal is to make sure that we do have a qualified candidate that can come in before this thing starts. And it is going to be a bit of a challenge, but not impossible. But certainly, a bit of a challenge.”
Republican Don Kasprzak, a former mayor, says it was appropriate for the current mayor to immediately include the candidates in the process, especially as cities across the country face difficulties hiring police officers.
“I’m actually very concerned about the process and how long it will take in getting the right person. We’ve had a real difficult time hiring people,” notes Kasprzak. “People have been very disrespectful, not only in this country but locally there’s some folks, about our police department and police in general. And when young folks are looking at a career they look at those things and read the fatalities for example this year alone in this country for police officers and they hesitate. So that is a major issue as well. It’s not just finding the right police chief but we have to find the right young folks to lead our city that way.”
Democratic hopeful Wendall Hughes is optimistic that a good candidate can be found in short order.
“We have a great young police department , we just need a really good leader. We need the right person. We need somebody with the right attitude to lead,” Hughes hopes. “You know public safety is huge and that’s where it starts with a police chief. I want to have a, get a chief that’s more open with the public. Little more communication. And that’s actually what I just spoke with Mayor Rosenquest about and I implored him to maybe do a couple public sessions so people know what we’re doing.”
Ward 1 Democrat Julie Baughn was surprised that Chief Mitchell decided to retire and says a new chief must keep the department unified.
“It’s been through a lot in the last few years with interim police chiefs the last couple of years. So I really think having somebody that can bring it united is definitely, definitely warranted,” Baughn said. “I mean the timing of this is less than ideal you know with only two lieutenants. So I think that we’re just waiting. This is a waiting game to see what the progression of everyone is going to be.”
As a search for a new chief is conducted the Plattsburgh Police Department will be under the command of Lt. Josh Pond, the department’s highest-ranking lieutenant. The mayor is proposing installing three lieutenants to command the Administration, Patrol and Detective divisions.
