Smith named new police chief

NORWALK — Captain Dave Smith is the new Norwalk Police Chief. Norwalk Mayor Dave Light made the announcement Saturday afternoon. "The Chief's selection committee met late yesterday (Friday) afternoon," Light said in an emailed press release. "After a long arduous process, they selected Captain David Smith to lead the department as the next Chief of Police. "Both applicants were more than qualified for the position. Please join us in welcoming Chief Smith to the position. The time and date for his official searing in will be announced on Tuesday." Smith was one of the final two candidates along with Norwalk Police Sgt. Jim Montana. "Honestly, the first thoughts are very, very, very humbling," Smith said. "It's a big job and it's humbling to be entrusted with it. "I've had lots of good mentors ... lots of good leads to follow." Smith's entire career has been with the NPD. "I was sponsored at the academy by Norwalk and my official first day as a reserve after the academy was March 28, 1995," he said. "I was hired full-time as a patrolman Sept. 14 of 1998. I was promoted to sergeant April 8, 2009 and promoted to captain April 9, 2012." He's been captain for 10 years and said he's ready to make the jump. But it won't be easy. "You know how true it is when you say hit the ground running," Smith said. "This will be a sprint. We will get things moving. When Mike Conney took over as chief he restructured the police department. "He named me patrol operations captain and piled on a lot of duties," Smith added. "It forced me to get more organized than I never knew I could be. I worked closely with executive officer Jim Fulton." Will Fulton continue as executive officer? "100 percent he will," Smith said. Smith is a 1991 graduate of St. Paul High School. He played football for the Flyers and his senior season was the last as head coach for Joe Widman. John Livengood, an assistant on Widman's staff, took over as head coach the next season and has been there ever since. Smith has good memories of his time on the gridiron. "I love Coach Widman," Smith said. "It was a great experience playing for him." The official swearing-in ceremony is tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday.