Mayor Names Wilson Police Chief

Mayor Yvonne Flowers announced today that Rich Wilson, who has served with the Police Department for more than three decades, has been named the city's Police Chief. Wilson has been serving as Interim Police Chief since Tom Pape retired in May.

Wilson joined the department in 1994 as a Police Dispatcher and worked his way up through the ranks. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2001 and served in Community Policing and then the Neighborhood Recovery Unit before being named a Police Lieutenant.

He became Police Captain in 2016, tasked, in part, with oversight of the Patrol and Detective Divisions, the Neighborhood Recovery Unit, the Community Policing Unit, and the Traffic Safety & School Resource Detective. Wilson also served as the Commanding Officer of the Emergency Services Unit.

"Rich Wilson has a wealth of experience with the City Police Department and has distinguished himself at every step along the way," said Mayor Flowers. "He is well known throughout the community and brings strong leadership skills to this critically important position. I have the utmost confidence in his ability and know he will work with the community and always put public safety first as we move the city forward."

Wilson is a graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes High School, attended Dutchess Community College where he studied business administration and holds a bachelor's degree in Public Affairs from Empire State University. He is a lifelong resident of the Poughkeepsie area.

While serving as Captain, Wilson was the lead department official who worked with the city's Procedure Justice Committee in the development of the Police Department Police Reform & Modernization Collaborative in compliance with then-Governor Andrew Cuomo's Executive Order. The department established the Procedural Justice Committee to open up a dialogue with community members, and meetings are held monthly.

Wilson also was instrumental in re-writing of the department's policy manual.

Wilson volunteers for the City of Poughkeepsie Police Athletic League and Vassar Warner Home and is a board member for the McCann-Caven Golf Courses Inc.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the department," said Wilson. "We have an excellent staff of dedicated officers and support personnel, and I am proud of the progress we have made - and will continue to make -- to protect the city and keep both its residents and visitors safe. All policing is local, and I will continue to work with the community to identify and address their safety needs."

Over the last few years, the department has made significant investments in body cameras to provide more transparency about how officers operate in the field - and about the situations to which they respond. The department also enhanced its complaint process by improving accessibility and by developing a new easy-to-use online reporting tool. Forms can be used to file civilian complaints and for commendations for the actions of officers.

The department has completed Procedural Justice training, which focuses on the way police interact with the public and emphasizes that treating people with dignity and respect and giving citizens a voice during encounters promotes community trust.

City Police also have undertaken implicit bias training, which addresses the automatic association people tend to make between groups of people and stereotypes about those groups.

The department also has developed new policies and is currently taking the necessary steps to be recognized as accredited through the State of New York.

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