Norwalk police chief 'loves what I am doing'

NORWALK — Norwalk Police Chief Mike Conney has turned in a letter of his intention to retire to the city of Norwalk. Although he "loves what I am doing," the veteran police officer said the time is right. The letter was sent on June 23 and stated that Conney and his wife, Cindy, met with a "Member Education Representative from the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund on June 18, 2021, to discuss retirement options." In the letter, Conney also says that the date of his resignation is firm, but he will not officially announce his resignation later this month. "I am apprehensive because I love what I am doing, and the City of Norwalk has been nothing but great to me over the past 31 years," Conney wrote in his letter. "I have been truly fortunate to work with such great people, past and present, and will miss our interactions and my being able to directly contribute to the fulfillment of our mission." Conney was not planning on this information going public so soon, but he wanted to give the city a head start on the hiring process for a new chief so that it did not have to name an interim. When contacted on Thursday, Conney said that he would like to wait for the official announcement of retirement before commenting.