Printer Friendly Version - Thank You, Chief Terribile

On Thursday, Feb. 12, Guilford's chief of police since 2003, Thomas A. Terribile, will leave his post to retire. Terribile is credited with doing much to foster the department's culture of pride and professionalism. The Guilford native joined the force in 1975 and worked his way through the ranks while bringing the department the benefit of his education and expertise.

Retiring Guilford Chief of Police Thomas A. Terribile leaves his post on Thursday, Feb. 12, closing a remarkable chapter in the history of the department and completing a stellar law enforcement career that started right here, 40 years ago.

With a master's degree in public administration, bachelor's degree in criminal justice, and a penchant for statistical analysis, Tom helped create the department's first computer programs and analytics and has been championing cutting-edge Guilford Police Department (GPD) tech ever since. His résumé and track record is very impressive, especially for someone who was once told he "wasn't college material."

Raised in Guilford, Tom showed an aptitude for becoming a mechanic by the time he was in high school and recalls "a bunch of people who told my mom I wasn't college material," Tom says. "So I started out in the mechanical end in high school and I wanted to be a mechanic."

After graduating from Guilford High School, Tom took a job at Detroit Steel Co. in Hamden. As an 18-year-old during the Vietnam War's draft period, Tom starting thinking about joining the military, and the idea of getting involved in military law enforcement followed. He had a cousin in the U.S. Air Force and decided to sign up.

"I was a great candidate for mechanic, but I wanted to be a cop," says Tom. "Something intrigued me about the work. So I became a cop in the Air Force. Back then, they had law enforcement and security. I was on the law enforcement side."

After serving with the U.S. Air Force in Oscoda, Michigan, Tom returned here and joined Guilford Police Auxiliary in 1974. In 1975, GPD opened the hiring process, and Tom was picked to join the force. Within a short time, he decided he also wanted to earn his college degree.

"When I first started back in the '70s, it was a different time back then," says Tom. "It was, 'Kid, what are you going to school for?' I had the drive-especially after I got out of the service. I said, 'How did I get out of high school without doing what I should have done?' I had a point to prove."

Tom started to further his education in 1976 with financial help from the GI Bill and the Town of Guilford, while also working full-time as an officer. By the 1980s, he and his late wife, Lisa (who lost her battle with cancer in 2011), were young parents, welcoming a family that would grow to four children.

Back then, GPD was located at what is today Town Hall South on Boston Street. In 1983, after the state passed the credit hours certification requirement for police training, Tom signed up as GPD's training officer. As it turned out, GPD had also just taken in its first computer, an Apple.

"At the time, there was really no organized training or books to follow," says Tom. "A buddy taught me how to make Apple programs, and I was able to track officer training. So the first job was putting that all together."

Tom was a corporal (GPD no longer has the rank) when the new chief, Kenneth Cruz, came on board. Cruz brought in an analyst to rate the department, and Tom's computer work was so significant, it put the Training Department at the top of the list. Tom credits Chief Cruz with many advancements, such as writing the department's first manual, which continues to evolve as a teaching tool for recruits.

By the time Tom was promoted to patrol sergeant, he was splitting his time between training officers and working on the street. By then, he'd earned his B.S. from University of New Haven (1986). It had taken Tom 10 years of day and evening classes, coordinated with his full-time GPD work schedule.

About the same time he graduated, GPD's computer system graduated to a new IBM system. Tom was tapped to bring it online.

"I was told we've got this thing called an AS 400 coming in, and you're in charge of it," says Tom. "I remember they brought this big computer in, and they're talking about DOS, and I'm saying, 'I have no idea what this is!' I had to learn the language. Back then, technology was a challenge-a lot of people didn't want to accept it. The biggest job I had was convincing officers how it was going to make their job easier. That's kind of what I've done my whole career-look at things that need to be done and say, 'How am I going to make this easier?'"

The thought process helped GPD become one of the state's leading departments incorporating technology into policing.

"The quality of officers we have is really good; they look at the technology and realize how it's going to benefit them and the town. I'm proud to say we were one of the first ones in the state to have computers in the cars," Tom points out. "Others had it, but it wasn't what we wanted. Our vision was to have everything you can do in the building, be everything you do in the car."

Sounds simple, but back in the 1990s, before the days of wi-fi and smartphones, it wasn't.

"We found a vendor who said, 'I can hook your AS 400 to your car; no problem.'" Tom says. "He sat here with a laptop and he was on with his AS 400 up in Hartford. We said, 'How the heck did you do that?' That was our vision, and we were able to get that out into the cars in the '90s."

Tom was a lieutenant when he decided to begin working toward his master's degree. He was promoted to deputy chief in 1991 and earned his master's in 1993. He credits Cruz with putting GPD on the path to becoming the nationally accredited department it is today, as well as fostering the department's culture of professionalism.

"Back in '91, Ken was head of the statewide accreditation program, and he put me on the committee. We started re-writing accreditation standards for Connecticut, [but] Ken and I wanted to get the federal accreditation. We felt if someone from another town in Connecticut was going to rate and examine us, are they going to be as critical as someone from another state who I'm never going to see again-someone only here for the purposes of making sure what I'm doing is what I said I'm doing? We felt the federal level would be a harder examination of the department and a better examination. The whole intent is to make the department a better department."

Known for setting the national gold standard for public safety agencies, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), has repeatedly accredited GPD and most recently awarded the department recognition "with excellence."

As a result, "Our culture is now based on CALEA and doing the right thing," says Tom. "It does give you pride to know your department went a step above to make sure we're doing the right things and serving the community the way it should be done."

Tom says GPD also better serves the community by being open to collaboration, such as bringing in Youth & Family Services clinicians for professional training to better assist children at domestic violence crime scenes, or assisting victims by providing on-scene assessments for possible relocation to safe housing.

"I think that's some of my college understanding at work," says Tom of GPD's collaborative approach. "We're not in our own little world. When I started, a police department was like a secret society. We didn't let on what we were doing; we didn't need other people's help. As a manager, when you look at it, there are other people you can use to solve a problem that you can bring in as a group. I'm more inclusive and try to involve everybody. I'm a rules person, but before I make that decision, I like to have a group, if time permits, to get other people's input."

In local police services, GPD was among the first to begin cooperative policing with neighboring towns to create a regional approach. Today, the cooperation includes elements such as rapid entry response to school emergencies in other towns and participating in the regional SWAT unit.

Tom says his successor, Guilford's new chief of police, Jeffrey Hutchinson, will continue the climate of collaboration.

"The other day, during a storm, he was working with [Assistant Fire Chief] Wayne Vetre, and it was kind of nice to see. It was like what [Fire Chief] Charlie [Herrschaft] and I do. That's the whole point: to see the new generation and see them intermingling and doing what we'd done-work together and not care about whose job it is. It's working together and identifying the problem, and how are we going to get the solution and use every piece of equipment the town gives us?"

"It's the character of the Town of Guilford. It's always been there. Whenever we need anything, as long as we can justify it, we've always gotten it. Guilford has been a great place to work."

Having a police department that puts service first is something Tom has worked hard to maintain.

"I always tell the young guys, in Guilford, we're not kicking doors in-we're more of a service-oriented department. I was lucky the culture of the place was always there when I started back in the '70s. Ken kept it going, and we just improved on it, and hopefully these guys will keep that culture going. It was important to me to show the progression of who those people were and who made this department what it is. Somebody before me did a great job; somebody after me is going to do a great job. Hopefully, you teach them, and it carries on."

Tom says leaving his post will be difficult, but he's reassured by the commission's choice to promote Hutchinson, who most recently served as Tom's deputy chief.

"It's nice that they chose Jeff. He's an educated, intelligent guy," says Tom. "It was nice to know they think of him as much as I thought of him when I wanted him for the job as deputy."

Tom won't be too far from the department after he leaves. He recently remarried and he and his wife, Janine, have a home in Guilford. They also have nine grandchildren between them (their wedding party included Janine's six granddaughters, Tom's two granddaughters, and his two-year-old grandson). Tom says he's looking forward to spending more time with the grandkids.

"I have no intentions of leaving Guilford," says Tom. "Luckily, I can retire with a very nice pension from the town and I'm very grateful for that. I've earned it, but the Town of Guilford has been good to me and the Police Department. So I'm looking at ways I can volunteer here, especially things I couldn't do before because of my position. I love hiking and if I'm going hiking I may as well clear the trail, so I'm looking to get involved with Westwoods,"

Tom is also planning to stay busy as a member of Guilford Rotary and possibly assisting SARAH as a volunteer, among other Guilford groups. Still, after 23 years in GPD upper management, it's going to be hard to leave the responsibility behind.

"It's going to be different," he says. "I don't think I know how much that affects me right now, so we'll see in the first couple of months how that goes. I'm going to miss it. But I'll figure it out-I'll make a trail."