Timothy Wydra, acting chief of police in the Hamden Police Department, is stepping down after serving more than a year in the acting chief role.
Wydra, who joined the force in 1993, announced he would be leaving the department in a press release Monday. In his 17 months as acting chief, Mayor Lauren Garrett never appointed Wydra to the permanent position, despite coming out on top of a lengthy search process involving roughly 30 candidates back in February.
It appears that Garrett chose the appointee from outside of the Hamden department.
“It is with regret that I inform you that Mayor Garrett will be announcing later today her appointment of an external candidate to the position of Chief of Police,” Wydra wrote in the release. “While I am obviously disappointed with this decision, I am extremely proud of our department and the work that we have accomplished together.”
Hours after Wydra announced his departure, Garrett’s office confirmed the appointment of a new chief in a separate press release and acknowledged that Wydra would be retiring.
HQNN has reached out to both the mayor’s office and Wydra for comment.
“Mayor Garrett is deeply grateful for Acting Chief Wydra’s years of dedicated service,” the release read. “His legacy will be felt in the safer streets, stronger community ties, and more efficient, effective police force he leaves behind.”
Wydra stepped in for former Chief of Police, John Sullivan, who retired from the force in May 2022. Prior to serving as acting chief, he spent time as a patrol officer, a K-9 officer and a detective in the Major Crimes Unit. He moved through the ranks to become a sergeant in 2004, then a lieutenant in 2006 and a captain in 2021.
The mayor’s office will be announcing the new appointee on Tuesday, according to the press release. Wydra will leave his post on Oct. 15, and the new chief will assume the role the following day.
It is still unclear why Garrett did not appoint Wydra to the permanent role.
“I will say that what (the Police Chief Search Committee) were charged with was conducting a thorough search,” Hamden Chief of Staff Sean Grace said about the mayor appointing a chief from outside the department.
This story will be updated as it develops.
2 replies on “Hamden acting chief of police announces retirement, mayor appoints chief from outside department”
It’s unfortunate that the mayor did not appoint the acting chief to the permanent position rather choosing someone from outside the department. Chief Wydra being the better candidate during the vetting process did not seem to enter in to the decision making. Chief Wydra led the HPD for more than a year as Chief and served with integrity and distinction. This badly hurts morale within the department, something this mayor clearly does not understand. The town was asking for a permanent appointment for Chief Wydra and this was a very disappointing end result.
I don’t think it’s right not to appoint Wydra as the police chief.
I worked with him for many years as a dispatcher and I thought he did an excellent job as a police officer and supervisor.
Good luck, and God speed Tim.