Peekskill Appoints New Police Chief

PEEKSKILL, NY — The city of Peekskill appointed Patrol Lieutenant Leo Dylewski the next chief of police.

Dylewski was appointed by the city manager and approved by the mayor and Common Council at its Sept. 27 meeting.

In August, Chief Don Halmy announced his intention to retire after more than 20 years on the force.

Dylewski said he was excited about becoming chief and plans to continue working to improve the department with recommendations brought forth from the Police Reform Task Force.

"I love Peekskill," he said. "It is where I met my wife and where my daughter played with her cousin as a child."

Halmy said he was happy about the choice of his successor.

He said Dylewski and he worked together in Peekskill almost the entirety of their careers, "and we share many of the same values and ideals, especially in regards to policing."

Dylewski has more than 21 years of law enforcement experience, attending the Westchester County Police Academy and working for the New York City Department of Environmental Police before starting his career with the City of Peekskill Police Department in August 2000.

In 2004, he became a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer and then followed in 2005 by becoming a trained juvenile officer and working with the Community Policing Unit.

Following being reassigned to the Patrol Division, Dylewski continued his outreach to the public, which included the Latino community. In 2014, after being promoted to sergeant, Dylewski maintained being a part of the department’s youth and community programs by coordinating the City’s D.A.R.E. and G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education and Training) programs.

He was promoted to lieutenant in 2017 and helped oversee the implementation of the D.A.R.E. program for the Town of Cortlandt. Dylewski then took over command of the Patrol Division in 2019.

Dylewski has served as president of both the State of New York Police Juvenile Officers Association and the Westchester County Youth Officer’s Association and continues to sit on their boards. He earned a bachelor’s degree in community and human services from SUNY Empire State College in 2013 and a master’s degree in public administration from Marist College in 2016.

He is married with a daughter, a nephew and a niece and recently became a grandfather.

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