NEW PALTZ, NY — The SUNY New Paltz chief of university police has announced his decision to step down. Chief David Dugatkin is a 28-year police veteran and a 1985 New Paltz alumnus. He joined the New Paltz Police Department in 1990, was appointed supervisor of the detective division in 2003 and was promoted to detective sergeant in 2008.
Dugatkin left the town police department in 2011 to become the university’s chief of police.
Effective May 4, Deputy Chief Mary Ritayik will become interim police chief while the college searches for a successor.
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Ritayik joined SUNY New Paltz in 2000, and in 2003, she was promoted to university police investigator. She held that position for a decade before she was promoted to deputy chief of police in 2014.
Dugatkin has agreed to be available through the summer to assist Ritayik during the transition.
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