Change at the Top: State Police Commissioner Stepping Down

Come February, Connecticut will have a new commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP).

The current commissioner, Reuben F. Bradford, is retiring after three years on the job. His last day will be Feb. 1, 2014. 

The 67-year-old was the head of security for the National Football League before Malloy appointed him to the top cop spot in Connecticut in early 2011, the Hartford Courant reports. He suffers from a neurological disorder called ataxia, according to an article on CT Mirror. 

Work to find his replacement began several weeks ago when the Commissioner raised the possibility of his retirement with the Governor’s Chief of Staff, according to a press release from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's office.

The frontrunner for the job appears to be Deputy Commissioner William Shea, law enforcement sources told The Courant.

Malloy appointed Shea, of Middletown, to that post in May 2012. A release announcing the appointment noted that Shea is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and has more than 32 years of experience in the United States Army and Army National Guard, with considerable command, managerial and operational support experience across diverse roles and levels of authority.

Bradford brought decades of both law enforcement and management experience to DESPP, the release from Malloy's office states. He led the administration’s efforts to revamp the agency. 

Some of his accomplishments, as noted by Malloy's office, include: 

• restoring the crime lab’s national accreditation and virtually eliminating any backlogs at the facility
  
• meeting every deadline during the implementation of the recent Gun Violence Prevention Legislation
  
• significantly expanding the scope of his department’s work to incorporate the former Department of Homeland Security and other offices in order to achieve greater efficiency in state government

“Commissioner Bradford did an exceptional job of leading the state’s first responders through a period where they were tested time and time again,” Malloy said. “Through five presidential emergency declarations and unspeakable tragedy, he worked with the dedicated men and women at the department to make sure that residents received assistance often during their darkest hours. He also led the department through administrative changes that were both necessary and long overdue. I want to thank him for his service, and wish him well on his retirement.”

“Working at the Department has presented many challenges, but the underlying work ethic of the people who make up this critically important agency made the task at hand worthwhile,” Bradford said. “While we have accomplished much, there is much more to be done. I want to thank the Governor for giving me the opportunity to once again serve the people of Connecticut.”

DESPP is comprised of six divisions: 

• State Police 
• Emergency Management and Homeland Security
• Statewide Emergency Telecommunications
• Scientific Services
• Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POSTC) 
• Commission on Fire Prevention and Control/Connecticut Fire Academy