Tom Pyrcz Retires After 51-Year Career With Enfield Police

ENFIELD, CT — A member of the original 1972 graduating class of Fermi High School who went on to serve his hometown for more than half a century has retired after a 41-year career as an officer with the Enfield Police Department.

Tom Pyrcz was feted Thursday by his peers in a brief ceremony at police headquarters, thanking him for the many responsibilities he assumed since first donning an Enfield uniform as a Police Explorer in 1969.

"Tom has provided 51 years of dedicated, honorable and compassionate service to the town of Enfield, making him the longest serving police officer I have ever known, and one of the longest serving officers in state history. He is to be emulated, as both a police officer, and as a man," Chief Alaric Fox said.

Pyrcz became an auxiliary officer and assistant dog warden in 1972, and a dispatcher in 1973. He was sworn in as a patrol officer in 1979.

For the past 20 years, Pyrcz has been a valued member of the Enfield Police Department Accreditation Team, being appointed Accreditation Manager in 2007. He was named Vice President on the Connecticut Police Accreditation Coalition in 2013, a position he still holds. Enfield is one of just 16 municipal agencies in Connecticut nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

Pyrz also was a presenter for the Connecticut Department of Transportation Operation Lifesaver Program for 17 years, and he was named CT DOT Technical Advisor to the program from 2003 to 2006.

At the retirement ceremony, Fox presented Pyrcz a shadow box containing various patches, pins and medals from his distinguished career. Joining him at the event were his wife Lynn, son Steven and daughter Julie.

"I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a lot of great people through my dad and his career, and so many of them have expressed what a great guy and hard worker he is," Steven Pyrcz said. "My family and I couldn’t be more proud of his accomplishments and his dedication to the town he was born and raised in."

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