Police chief to step down after 35-year career
An active timer in Todd Hazard’s office counts down the seconds, minutes, hours, and days. A white board calendar on his wall ends on Feb. 24. No, the Town of Cornwall police chief isn’t tracking the number of days until doomsday, but rather how much time he has left in his career.
After 35 years as a patrolman, sergeant, and chief, Hazard is retiring his shield.
“I love the job, but it’s time,” Hazard said. “Thirty-five years is a long time. Nobody in my family has ever retired. They worked until they died. I want to give it a try. I’ve had a great career. I’ve enjoyed almost every day of it. I’ve met a lot of great people along the way and worked with a lot of great people. I’m quite fulfilled.”
But why Feb. 24 as opposed to the end of the month?
The date is significant because it marks the anniversary of when Hazard was hired as a police officer by the Town of New Windsor. The outgoing chief also wanted to stay in uniform long enough to see his son, William, graduate from the police academy and present him with a certificate. William recently joined the Kingston Police Department as a patrolman.
“I was very happy,” Hazard said. ”I didn’t push him towards it, but I didn’t push him away from it.”
A Cornwall resident since 1995, Hazard holds an Associate’s degree from SUNY Orange and a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Mercy College. He started taking criminal justice classes at night while still in high school and was hired by New Windsor before he graduated college.
“I knew I didn’t want to work in an office setting and be inside all the time,” Hazard said on why he chose to become a police officer. “I knew there was some variety to it.”
The minimum age to be hired by a police department is 20, but Hazard knew to take the patrolman’s exam at the age of 19 so he could be hired right away. He ironically received a canvas letter from the Town of Cornwall, but due to a bad snowstorm, the interview with the board was postponed. Between that time and the rescheduled date, Hazard received a canvas letter and interviewed with the Town of New Windsor. He accepted the offer. The town offered him a financial incentive to continue going to school around his work schedule.
Hazard also chose to work for New Windsor because it was a larger agency, he could gain more experience, and there was more room for advancement. He served as a patrolman for 14 years from 1988 to 2002 and when an opening for a sergeant became available, he threw his hat into the ring.
“It was always my goal to move into an administrative position. Back then there wasn’t a lot of turnover, so that was the first time I interviewed for the position. Promotional opportunities were not always there.”
For the first eight or nine years, Hazard rotated shifts with his fellow officers. Then he started working steady evenings by choice. It allowed him to do some outside work during the day.
On March 3, 2007, Hazard was sworn in as the new chief in the Town of Cornwall.
He had taken the chief’s exam mostly for the experience of taking the test, but it just so happened a spot opened up and Cornwall was looking to hire someone outside the agency.
Living in town was a benefit, as well as having established a decent reputation.
“It’s awkward coming in from the outside, but it’s a great feeling being hired by your own town.”
Upon taking the job, Hazard described the department as one with strong bones. Not a lot of adjustments needed to be made, just some minor tweaks. The most challenging part was learning his own responsibilities because nobody was around to show him the ropes. Hazard said there were some things he didn’t know he was responsible for doing, but he eventually settled into the job and developed his own routine.
Hazard starts his day looking at all the calls that came in from the last time he was in the office, just to see if there’s anything he should be concerned with or should have been notified about.
He also checks to ensure everything that proper protocol was followed on those calls. He then checks his e-mail and planner. By 11 a.m. he takes a ride around town just to get out from behind the desk. At some point he meets up with the day-shift officers to see how their day is going.
Looking back on his career, Hazard said no one call stands out as more memorable than another.
“I’ve always just tried to help people and do right by people. That gives you satisfaction. I think I’ve helped a lot of people along the way. Some people I tried to help, but couldn’t. That’s just the way it goes.”
With his calendar reading two weeks left to go, Hazard continues to show his successor, Sgt. Joseph Gebert, the ropes. The new chief will be better prepared for the job when he takes the helm on Feb. 25.
As for his retirement, Hazard has no specific plans other than to spend a majority of his summers in the Adirondacks.
