Thomas Kulhawik Appointed City's Police Chief

Acting Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik was appointed to become chief of the Police Department Friday afternoon.

His appointment was approved by a unanimous vote of the three-member Police Commission after the commissioners met in executive session for about ten minutes in Police Headquarters.

The commissioners also voted unanimously to appoint Lt. David Wrinn deputy chief.

Kulhawik, 49, joined the department in July 1983 and was appointed deputy chief in November 2007. He has been serving as acting chief since Chief Harry W. Rilling announced his resignation from the department on June 21.

Following the commission voting, Kulhawik said Rilling was head of the department's training when he applied to be an officer 28 years ago and hired him.

Kulhawik and Wrinn will be sworn-in to their new positions during a City Hall ceremony next Wednesday, which is the day their contracts will go into effect.

Prior to the vote, Mayor Richard A. Moccia, who is also a police commissioner, said of Kulhawik, "He has held just about every position in the  department, he has the respect of the men and women in this department, and I certainly echo the recommendation of the Police Commission that acting Chief Tom Kulhawik, effective July 11, will be full chief."

Kulhawik's brother, Edward, is chief of the Eastham, MA, police department on Cape Cod, and is the former chief of the Wilton Police Department.

Commissioner Peter Torrano nominated Wrinn for the the deputy chief post, saying " He's served in most of the divisions of the police department, including leadership positions on all three shifts, and I think he's distinguished himself as one of the finer officers we have, and I'm proud to recommend him as our deputy chief.

Wrinn, 49, joined the department in August 1984 and became a lieutenant in September 2006. His brother, Eugene, is police chief in Brattleboro, VT.

Asked what his plans are for the department, Kulhawik said, "We'll look at what we're successful at and we'll keep doing that, and we'll look where we can improve, we're not fools, we know we can always do a better job, and we're hoping to bring that to the department and give the officers here what they need to do their job."

 "We have a tremendous staff, we have a very young department, and I'm proud working with them and hoping to give them the resources, the training and the support that they need," he said.

As a general philosophy, Kulhawik said, "I firmly believe in community policing, believe in community relationships, I believe in customer service."

Kulhawik has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice administration and is currently working to receive a master's degree in public administration.

Kulhawik and his wife of 27 years, Julie, live in Stratford. They have two children, Evan, 22, who is a graduate of Boston College, and Taylor, 20, who's entering her junior year at Suffolk University in Boston.