Quinnipiac University announced on Jan. 6, that it hired the former chief of New Haven police, Ontoniel “Tony” Reyes, as the new chief of Public Safety after a 21-year career in New Haven. Reyes will take over Public Safety’s staff of 47 officers, 15 of which are armed.
“I come to the university ready to be part of the solution,” Reyes said at an in-person press conference on March 31.“(I’m) ready to convene with the people that are critical to moving us forward.”
Reyes is the third head of Public Safety within the past three years. Back in 2013, longtime chief David Barger retired and Edgar Rodriguez replaced him. Rodriguez spent three years at the helm before James Nealy took over as an interim chief in 2020. Reyes is anticipating his hiring will bring some balance back to the public safety department.
“I think it’s important to have stability, and I think the university does care about that,” Reyes said. “I think more importantly it’s about making sure that the goals of the university translate into what we do in public safety, as well.”
Hailing from New Haven, the 49-year-old chief first became an officer in 2000, eventually working his way up to chief of the New Haven Police Department in 2019. Reyes also acquired a graduate degree in public administration from the University of New Haven and served as a professor teaching undergraduate and graduate criminal justice courses at the University of New Haven.
“One of the main things I bring to the table is I’m very partnership-minded,” Reyes said. “I consider myself a convener. I don’t think any one organization, certainly not any one individual, is going to have all the answers.”
Reyes enters the chief of Public Safety position in a tumultuous time surrounding police reform. Despite that, he is no stranger to the efforts needed to make a positive impact in the department and around campus.
“Policing traditionally is a service-oriented organization and started in the early 1800s with Peelian principles, which are founded on community-centric mindsets, so that is the foundation of what we do in public safety,” Reyes said. “That’s what police reform is all about. It’s just getting back to the fundamental principles of what policing and public safety are all about.”
Similar to Quinnipiac’s plan for the future, Reyes has his own plans for the department of Public Safety.
“I’m going to engage with students in their day-to-day functions, I want to be visible,” Reyes said. “I want to be proactive in understanding the perspective of students and more importantly, having students understand the role of public safety here at the university, how they play a role and how we’re interdependent.”
Now in his second official week, Reyes is already communicating with various student leadership organizations around campus to plan upcoming collaborations and discussions.
“There is no substitute for trust and information,” Reyes said. “It’s about making sure that students feel, that the community feels that we are being absolutely transparent and that we have their best interest in mind. I think that communication is the number one way to achieve that.”
He also takes over the department after more than a year of the pandemic, a pressure point that puts stress on the department’s budget. However, his experience with staffing at New Haven prepared him for navigating the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s not just about filling the ranks again, it’s also about thinking about how we do the job differently and better and how do we evolve,” Reyes said. “That’ll be the mindset and certainly that’ll be part of my assessment here in public safety.”
As the new face in the Public Safety department, Reyes wants the Quinnipiac community to know that he’s “approachable.”
“We’re part of the community,” Reyes said. “Your public safety officer is part of your experience here, is a resource, is someone that you can trust as someone who’s going to have your best interest in mind.”
