Douglas Nordquist was sworn in as Ogden's Police Chief July 21. He replaces Chris Schrank who served as head of the police department for 12 years before retiring in mid-July. "We interviewed several candidates but one man continued to rise to the top and impressed us with his enthusiasm and genuine interest in being a community-oriented administrator," Ogden Supervisor Gay Lenhard said about the new chief. Nordquist is an Irondequoit native with over 30 years experience in the Monroe County Sheriff's department. He attended Bishop Kearney High School, MCC, and received his bachelor's degree from Empire State College. He has two teenagers and currently lives in Brighton but is in the process of moving to Ogden. "I think it only makes sense for the Chief of Police to live in the community he works for," Nordquist said. When Schrank decided to retire, he contacted Nordquist and suggested he apply for the position. "Chris, as well as several other police chiefs in this area, highly recommended Doug to us," Lenhard stated. Along with the other candidates, Nordquist went through the formal and somewhat lengthy interview process where he impressed both Lenhard and the town board. "Doug's beliefs are the same as mine and the board's; it's all about the community," Lenhard said. "This department has a solid reputation. I feel fortunate to be here. Chris Schrank ran an excellent, professional police department and accepted nothing less. The burden on me will be to continue to do the same," the new police chief said. Nordquist said he wants to see the department maintain and build on its reputation as being service oriented. He wants to see his officers out in the community as much as possible being accessible to the public, and he says he wants to be there with them. Lenhard says she has already seen this; "Doug was out in the community before he even started. He genuinely cares and wants to get to know the people he serves." Nordquist also plans to keep both his department and the public educated in such areas as crime prevention, identity theft, and fraud. He believes that education and working together is the only way to try and combat some of today's quickly growing crimes. |
