Bridge renamed for former police chief
Christa Cruise fought back tears Monday as she remembered her husband, former town of Ulster Police Chief Anthony Cruise, as a man who “tried to respect everybody.”
On Monday morning, Ulster County and the town of Ulster, along with police officers and state troopers from throughout the area, joined in honoring Cruise at the dedication of the Anthony E. Cruise Memorial Bridge, a span that carries Sawkill Road over the Sawkill Creek in the town.
“I lost my best friend,” Christa Cruise said. “Now I’m going to have to figure out my new normal.”
Cruise, 48, died in December 2016 after battling cancer for more than a year.
Christa Cruise and the couple’s daughter, Ashley, joined hundreds of others at the dedication. And, while dignitaries spoke of Chief Cruise’s contributions to the town, his wife recalled one very personal contribution he made to the life of just one person.
As Chief Cruise was being treated for bile duct cancer at the HealthAlliance Hospital, Christa Cruise said, an aide came in who her husband had once arrested. The aide, had turned her life around after her arrest and began to work on the hospital’s oncology wing. She told the former chief that, because he had treated her with compassion he had changed her life, Christa Cruise said.
Lt. Kyle S. Berardi, officer in charge of town of Ulster police, called the event “a very touching tribute to a guy that gave so many years.”
“I hope he’s looking down on us today,” Berardi added, joking that Cruise would be upset because “we’re causing a disturbance.”
In remarks, County Executive Mike Hein called the day “one of those opportunities we have to recognize a great human being ... (who) fully understood that our time on earth is brief, but our impact is great.”
In January, the Ulster County Legislature voted unanimously to rename the bridge after Cruise.
The county-owned bridge was known until then as the Sawkill School Bridge. It was rebuilt over several months last year and reopened to traffic on Dec. 9, 2016. Cruise died the day before.
Cruise began his 27-year law-enforcement career in 1988 as an officer at the Ulster County jail and was a county sheriff’s deputy from 1989 until 1992, when he joined the town of Ulster police. He was a town officer, detective, detective sergeant and lieutenant before becoming chief in 2012. He retired in November 2015 due to his illness.
The new bridge replaced a span built in 1958 and closed last May 31 due to structural concerns.