MacNamara Sworn In as Town's Ninth Police Chief *Includes Video Interview*

Police Chief Gary MacNamara said he learned early on that a crisis is in the eye of the beholder.

MacNamara, sworn in Thursday afternoon as the town's ninth police chief, said he was working as a patrol officer when he received a call about a woman in distress at a Fairfield laundromat.

"I responded to the laundromat, pulled into the lot, and a woman came out screaming for me to help her," MacNamara told a crowd of about 150 people in Roger Ludlowe Middle School's auditorium for his and three other officers' promotion ceremonies.

The woman led MacNamara into the laundromat, and he said he scanned the room to determine why she was screaming. "I was fresh out of the Academy, and all alone, and I was confronted by such a situation," he said.

MacNamara said the woman screamed again at pointed at the "victim" - a bathmat that was stuck in one of the laundromat's machines.

"The crisis is in the eye of the beholder. We really need to know that," MacNamara said. "That one incident showed me early on that solving small problems in a community is just as important, and sometimes more important, than the big one."

MacNamara said police officers can wait a long time for a big case, but they more often provide help on cases that don't reach the magnitude of a major incident for police officers.

But MacNamara had his share of big cases during his 22 years at the Fairfield Police Department.

Police Capt. Donald Smith, who served as emcee for the promotion ceremony, said MacNamara was the lead negotiator for the hostage crisis at Fairfield University in 2002, where he successfully negotiated the release of 27 students and a professor who were held hostage by a man claiming to have an explosive device. When he was in the Detective Bureau, MacNamara also investigated the 1993 murder of Brewster Bullard in Southport, which turned into a complex and multi-state case involving prostitution and money laundering.

Former Police Chief David Peck, who retired in May, said the town was in good hands with MacNamara as chief of police. "Gary and I worked very closely together over the last four years," Peck said. "I relied on him on a daily and nightly basis. This town is in very, very good hands."

"He is building on a very solid foundation I inherited when I was chief," Peck added.

During his 22 years in the department, MacNamara has served as a detective, detective sergeant, lieutenant, captain and deputy chief. As deputy chief, he oversaw the department's Field Services Division, which covers patrol, investigations and special services. He previously oversaw the department's Emergency Response Team, Hostage Negotiators, Training Unit, Internal Affairs, Accreditation and Public Information.

MacNamara also has taught classes in Critical Incident Response, interview and interrogation techniques, auto theft, Internet safety, school violence and hostage negotiations. He graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2004.

"Chief MacNamara has been an outstanding partner and a pleasure to work with, and our office has certainly benefited from his leadership," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Mertz. "It's essential we have a strong relationship with local law enforcement, and we have an exceptional relationship with the Fairfield Police Department due to the efforts of Chief MacNamara and Chief Peck."

First Selectman Ken Flatto said, "I am thrilled, and I know our community is thrilled, to have a chief of such top caliber to continue leading our department."

MacNamara said the one constant of police work in Fairfield was the mission of the department. "We exist to make Fairfield safe. We always have and we always will," he said. "The future is always just around the corner, and I want to make sure we are all prepared for it."

Also promoted Thursday were James Perez to the rank of lieutenant; Frederick Hine to the rank of sergeant; and Daniel VanDerheyden to the rank of sergeant.

Perez, an 18-year veteran of the force, served as a patrol officer from 1992 to 2002 and on an FBI Task Force from 1994 to 1995. He also worked as a school resource officer, DARE officer and field training officer and served on a DEA Task Force. He was the department's Dive Team supervisor from 2005 to 2006 and was the SWAT team leader from 2002 to 2004. He currently serves as the TRIAD coordinator, which helps to prevent crimes against senior citizens, and as the department's spokesman.

During his career at the Fairfield Police Department, Perez received the Combat Cross Award, a citation from FBI Director Louis Freeh for gang investigation, a citation from state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal for senior crime prevention, Unit Citations from the Fairfield Police Department for the Fairfield U. hostage crisis and a murder investigation, a Merit Citation from the FBI Task Force and citations from the DEA for drug investigations and an investigation that involved 40 kilograms of cocaine.

Hine, a 22-year veteran of the Fairfield Police Department, was promoted to detective in 1992 and has conducted investigations into homicides, robberies, sexual assaults, narcotics, larcenies, burglaries and financial and identity theft crimes. For the past seven years, he has been assigned to the department's Youth Services Division, where he has investigated physical and sexual abuse cases against children.

Hine received a Unit Citation from the Fairfield Police Department as lead investigator of a homicide that resulted in an arrest and conviction and an Honorable Service Award for leading an investigation into a case in which juveniles were targeted by a pedophile.

VanDerheyden, who served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps and who was assigned as a Squad Leader with a Marine Corps Infantry Unit, joined the Fairfield Police Department in 1999. He worked undercover for two years with the Connecticut State Police Statewide Narcotics Task Force and the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force.

While he was with the FBI, VanDerheyden worked two wire tapping investigations that targeted street gangs and large-scale drug trafficking organizations and that resulted in the arrest and prosecution of gang members and drug dealers.

VanDerheyden was promoted to detective in April and has served with the department's Emergency Services Unit. He is currently a firearms instructor and a member of the department's Honor Guard.

The four officers promoted Thursday afternoon were sworn into their new ranks by Flatto.

The Rev. Charles Allen from Fairfield University said Fairfield residents live in a town of peace and freedom and that was the result of "carefully-crafted laws and dedicated individuals willing to sacrifice their time, prosperity and safety for others."

Police Officer Kenneth Evans, a reverend who serves as the department's chaplain, called on God to watch over law enforcement officers everywhere and soldiers who are abroad.

"We depend upon your protection and divine guidance," Evans said.