Capt. James Heavey Appointed Deputy Police Chief

Capt. James Heavey, a 25-year veteran of the Greenwich Police Department, was named deputy chief Thursday afternoon during a special meeting of Board of Selectmen.

The appointment is effective July 1.

Heavey is a Greenwich native and has been active in the community. Since last year, he has been commander of the department's patrol division with more than 90 officers. The 50-year-old Heavey has been a police officer since 1986, although he began his career much earlier. He became a police dispatcher in 1981 and then worked five years as a special police officer before his appointment to the rank-and-file.

Heavey said that the department will undergo some reorganization with his pending promotion. The department will have a command structure of three captains reporting to the deputy chief and chief. Presently, the department has four captains reporting to Chief David Ridberg.

The finalists were Heavey, and Captains, Mark Kordick and Mark Marino. They along with Capt. Timothy Berry, head of the department’s operations division, took a written exam and were interviewed by an outside assessment firm on May 25. The three finalists were interviewed earlier this week by the selectmen, Chief David Ridberg, human resources director Maureen Kast, and Town Administrator John Crary.

Heavey heads the patrol division; Kordick, the professional standards division, and Marino, the detective division.

Ridberg, 49, became chief in 2007 – a few months following his appointment to deputy chief. He took the helm amid a tumultuous era that found him leading a department with the highest ranking officers being lieutenants. After a series of lawsuits and appeals over promotions were resolved, Ridberg implemented the current departmental structure in March 2010.

Check back to Greenwich Patch for more details on the appointment.