Update, Thursday: Darienite.com broke the news that Capt. Raymond Osborne had been chosen as the next Darien police chief on Wednesday afternoon. Here’s the Thursday announcement from the Police Commission:
At a meeting of the Darien Police Commission held on February 1, 2017, the Commission named Capt. Ray Osborne to succeed retiring Police Chief Duane Lovello; Lovello’s last day as chief is Feb. 15.
Police Commissioners Paul Johnson, Kim Huffard, and Tom Joyce are tasked by Town Charter with appointing the Town’s police chief. In a statement released by the Commission, Chairman Paul Johnson stated:
“The Police Commission is proud to announce that we unanimously voted to name Capt. Raymond Osborne as the tenth Chief of the Darien Police Department. Ray has distinguished himself over a 33 year career serving our community. We are fortunate to have a man of his character and talents taking over the department. We want to thank Chief Duane Lovello for his years of exemplary service to the DPD. Darien has been fortunate to benefit from Chief Lovello’s leadership. The Darien Police Department is universally regarded as one of the finest forces in the state.”
Captain Osborne was promoted to the rank of Captain in July of 2016 and currently commands the Field Services Bureau which includes the Patrol, Detective, Youth, and Marine Divisions.
He began his law enforcement career with the Easton Police Department in 1981 prior to joining the Darien Police Department in 1983. A 1997 graduate of the Fairfield County Detective School, he was appointed to the Detective Division and served as a member of the Fairfield County Regional Burglary Squad.
Promoted to sergeant in 2000 and lieutenant in 2008, he served as the Administrative Lieutenant prior to returning to the Patrol Division.
He is a 2010 graduate of the Roger Williams University Mid-Level Police Management program and a 2013 graduate of PERF’s Senior Management Institute for Police training program at Boston University. Osborne holds both a B.S. and M.S. in Criminal Justice from Iona College and presently serves as an adjunct professor at Housatonic Community College.
He also serves as the Commander of the Southwest Regional Emergency Response Team Hostage Negotiation Unit and supervises the Darien Police Department Domestic Violence Unit.
“I was honored to receive the news last night that I will be taking over for Chief Lovello upon his retirement,” Osborne said. “I would like to thank the Police Commission for the faith that they have shown in me by appointing me to the position of Chief of Police. My immediate goal is to continue to provide professional, responsive and efficient police services to the community that we serve. We have a tremendous group of dedicated, hardworking men and women at the Darien Police Department and I know that I can depend on each and every one of them to continue our tradition of excellence.”
“I was very happy to see my replacement come from within the Department,” said Chief Duane Lovello. “The team that the Police Commission and staff have worked very hard to assemble, at every rank, gives us a tremendous depth of talent. Ray Osborne is a consummate and respected police professional. The Town is in very good hands with Ray at the helm of the police department. I wish him and the entire staff of the Department, sworn and civilian, continuing success.”
Original article, 5:31 p.m., Wednesday:
Darien Police Capt. Raymond Osborne has been offered the job of Chief of Police after a unanimous vote Wednesday afternoon by the Police Commission.
Police Capt. Raymond Osborne, selected as the next Darien police chief.
“I think he’s going to make an absolutely superb chief of police for the town of Darien,” Commission Chairman J. Paul Johnson said immediately after the vote.
“Hear, Hear” Commission member Kim Huffard added.
“He’s outstanding,” Police Chief Duane Lovello said.
The commission chose Osborne after a 2 1/2 hour executive session in which three members of the department were interviewed. After the executive session, which had been scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m., the commission had been scheduled to hold a public session at 4:30 p.m., but the executive session continued for almost another half an hour before the six-minute public session began.
The other two candidates’ names were kept confidential. Police officials had previously said that the commission intended to choose a candidate from within the department.
‘I would say for the record,” Johnson said after the vote, “the interviews of all three candidates were outstanding, and when you interview three such fine people, all excellent officers, that it’s always hard to choose.
“We’re very happy to make the offer to Capt. Osborne. I think he’s going to make an absolutely superb chief of police for the town of Darien.”
Osborne and the town will have to agree on a contract before he takes the job when Lovello retires on Feb. 15. Employment contracts for Darien police chiefs are open-ended, with no fixed terms.
Last July, Osborne was promoted to captain from lieutenant when other resignations opened up several positions in the department.
Osborne’s current position includes overseeing the Field Services Bureau, which includes not only the Patrol Division but also the Detective Division. The bureau also includes the Youth and Marine divisions. Nearly all of the department’s sworn officers work in one of the divisions in the Field Services Bureau.
Last July, in a news release, the department gave this description of Osborne’s 32-year career:
He began his law enforcement career with the Easton Police Department in 1981 prior to joining the Darien Police Department in 1983. A 1997 graduate of the Fairfield County Detective School, he was appointed to the Detective Division and served as a member of the Fairfield County Regional Burglary Squad.
Promoted to sergeant in 2000 and lieutenant in 2008, he served as the Administrative Lieutenant prior to returning to the Patrol Division. He is a 2010 graduate of the Roger Williams University Mid-Level Police Management program and a 2013 graduate of PERF’s Senior Management Institute for Police training program at Boston University.
Capt. Osborne holds both a B.S. and M.S. in Criminal Justice from Iona College and presently serves as an adjunct professor at Housatonic Community College.
He also serves as the Commander of the Southwest Regional Emergency Response Team Hostage Negotiation Unit and supervises the Darien Police Department Domestic Violence Unit.
Editor’s note: Additional information was added to this article at 5:50 p.m.