History

The Darien Police Department was founded in 1925, when the Connecticut Legislature passed a Special Act that created the three member Darien Police Commission. Prior to this, the town maintained order through elected constables and fines were levied by justices of the peace. The first meeting of the Darien Police Commission was held on May 28, 1925.

In June 1925, the first police budget was approved, authorizing the hiring of a chief of police and six patrolmen. Subsequently, Sergeant Harry C. Smith of the Stamford Police Department was appointed Darien's first Chief of Police. Edward A. Tinker of Darien was hired as the new department's first patrol officer, wearing shield #1. Tinker would later become Darien's second Chief of Police.

One of Darien Police Department's most renowned officers would join the Department in 1925: Amos Anderson, dubbed the "Lone Wolf" of Darien. A veteran of World War I, where he served time as a machine gunner, Anderson teamed with other officers to conduct numerous raids to thwart the spread of illegal alcohol. His reputation grew when he captured four armed gunmen, three of whom had been indicted in New York for first-degree murder, in 1926. Anderson's career lasted two decades, until he was suspended in 1945.

The Darien Police Department continued to evolve as time passed and the town grew. Interstate 95 was officially opened in 1958 and the town experienced new residential and commercial activity. The town’s population doubled in the twenty years following the opening of I-95, reaching almost 20,000 residents, and the town would see its share of criminal activity generally associated with larger, urban areas, including robberies and even the occasional homicide. The Department would transform professionally, under the leadership of Chiefs Hugh McManus, Sr., from 1967-1971; Chief John W. Jordan from 1971-1988; Chief Bruce Anderson from 1988-1993; and Chief Hugh McManus, Jr. from 1993-2005. The Department grew to 51 sworn officers, operating a larger fleet of marked patrol vehicles.

On September 11, 2001, the terrorist attacks against the United States directly affected the Darien community, as many town residents commute to New York City on a daily basis. In the weeks after these tragic events, many Darien Police officers volunteered at "Ground Zero" on their own time to assist in the recovery efforts.

In July, 2012, the Department completed a $17 million renovation of its Police Headquarters. The renovation added over 15,000 square feet to the facility and included new office space, locker room facilities, an updated information system network, a communications center, an Emergency Operations Center and a state-of-the-art indoor shooting range. In 2017, after 35 years of service with the Department, Chief Duane J. Lovello retired and Chief Raymond K. Osborne was sworn in as the Department's tenth Chief of Police. Chief Osborne completed 35 years of service, retiring in 2019. Chief Donald B. Anderson was sworn in as the Department's eleventh Chief of Police in 2019 and retired in 2024 after 40 years of service.

On April 1, 2024, Jeremiah P. Marron Jr. was sworn in as the Department's current Chief of Police.

Currently, the Darien Police Department employs 52 sworn officers, 18 traffic agents and 18 civilian staffers and is a Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POSTC) Accredited agency (Tier II). The Department is currently in the process of achieving POSTC Tier III Accreditation status.

The Department is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is the Public Safety Answering Point for all 911 and non-emergency Police, Fire and medical-related calls within the Town of Darien, CT.

The above information is courtesy of our friends at the Museum of Darien and the Darien Library.