Former Police Chief Lovello: Unlocked Cars the ‘Bane of Our Existence’ in Darien Police Department

Retiring Police Chief Duane Lovello Reflects on 35 Years with the Darien Police Department

Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello Announces Retirement — to Leave Feb 15

Police Chief’s Statement to Board of Selectmen in Support of Police Body Cameras

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | February 24, 2017

News

By David Gurliacci | February 15, 2017

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | December 22, 2016

Government & Politics

By David Gurliacci | August 8, 2016

Reports of thefts from vehicles parked outside and left unlocked overnight are an ongoing frustration for Darien police, according to former Police Chief Duane Lovello. Police officers get information on each theft, ask neighbors if anything was seen or heard, then file reports on a crime that could be largely prevented if town residents just locked their cars. Before Lovello retired on Feb. 15, he was interviewed by Darien TV 79 Program Director Jim Cameron in an “Inside Town Hall” show that started airing two weeks ago on the town cable television station. Cameron asked Lovello, “What are some of the typical cases Darien Police Department handles?”

In the 35 years Police Chief Duane Lovello has been with the Darien Police Department, he says the biggest change in it is probably the police officers themselves: They’re better educated, better trained and in better shape than when he was first hired, he said. There’s also been an “explosion in technology,” Lovello said. A patrol car is “basically an office on wheels,” Lovello said. Technology has given criminals new ways of committing crimes but “there’s also a vast amount of information we get […] that helps us solve crimes.” Lovello, who grew up in Stamford, had been a firefighter with the Glenbrook Fire Department when he thought he’d take the employment test for a police officer that Darien Police Department was giving.

Darien Police Chief Duane J. Lovello, a 35-year veteran of the Darien Police Department, will retire on Feb 15, 2017. Lovello notified the Darien Police Commission and First Selectman Jayme Stevenson of his decision earlier this week. “It’s just time. I’ve had a career that was challenging, rewarding and fulfilling. I am going to miss it, but it’s the right time for me to move on.”

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— This announcement is from the Darien Police Department. _____________

Lovello began his career with the Department in December of 1981. He was transferred to the Detective Division in October of 1986, and was promoted to sergeant in July of 1993, lieutenant in September 2000 and captain in December 2000. Upon the retirement of former Chief Hugh McManus, the Darien Police Commission named Lovello Darien’s ninth chief of police. Lovello was sworn into office in March 2005.

« August 2022 »

Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello spoke to the Board of Selectmen on Monday to again ask for body cameras for police, and the board unanimously granted the request. Here’s Lovello’s prepared statement:

Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to come before you this evening to once again discuss funding for a body camera program for the Police Department. As you know, a request for funding for such a program in the approximate amount of $87,000 was submitted during budget presentations for the fiscal year which just started on July 1. That request was not funded. The thoughtful nature of the comments made by some members of the board in denying the request were not at all lost on me; among these were the evolving nature of the technology associated with body cameras and a general absence of complaints against the Darien Police Department that might otherwise highlight the need for the program.