The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Four move up the ranks
Chief: ‘It’s your turn to make future leaders of the organization’
MIDDLETOWN — City Hall Council Chambers was packed as the community, co-workers, a full representation of the police force and officials turned out to watch the formal promotion of four men in blue.
Together, newly minted Middletown police Sgts. Dale Rowland, Michael Inglis and Derek Puorro, and Lt. David Godwin have more than 85 years experience of law enforcement in the Tree City. They may have been solemn in appearance, waiting patiently Friday as dozens of individuals filed in to witness the proceedings, but each man’s pride and joy of achievement was evident as each was introduced by Police Chief William McKenna and Deputy Chief Michael Timbro.
Born and raised in Middletown, Godwin, a 25-year officer, was a police explorer as a teen, and later became an auxiliary officer, at the same time volunteering his time as a South Fire District firefighter. For 15 years, he was on the marine and dive unit, and spent 12 years in patrol, the chief said. He was the first officer in the state to receive full accreditation as a traffic accident reconstructionist, and is now among only three in Connecticut, McKenna said.
Godwin, a five-year sergeant who earned the 2012 Mothers Against Drunk Driving award, was pinned by his mother.
“Some of the officers who are on the job today weren’t even born when I started, which makes me one of the older ones — but I’m not one of the oldest,” he said, indicating Puorro beside him, as those in the audience laughed heartily.
“Watch out,” one woman said. “You’re his supervisor now,” she quipped.
Middletown native Puorro, a 1991 graduate of Xavier High School and U.S. Army veteran, spent six years on active duty, including a tour in Bosnia. He later became an East Lyme police officer and was hired by Middletown in February 2001. He’s been assigned to the patrol division, detective bureau, was a school resource officer, and is now part of the special investigations unit, according to Timbro.
Puorro, who spent 11
years on the SWAT team and a decade as a DARE instructor, has held several elected positions in the police union. He now coordinates the department’s DARE program. He holds an associate degree in criminal justice from Charter Oak College in Hartford and will earn his bachelor’s degree in the spring. He was pinned by his cousin, Middletown police Sgt. Nick Puorro.
“I want to especially thank my family for supporting me in this career, and the hours we deal with, and all the crazy stuff that goes on,” Puorro said. Pointing to his cousin, he added, “It’s really great to be able to work with family. He’s my best friend, beside my cousin. It’s so good to have a partner like that there.
“I was made active sergeant seven months ago, so we’ve been working together on the midnight shift. It’s a great shift, people on that shift are great, but the hours stink, so having him there makes it a little more bearable,” Puorro said.
“Since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be a police officer ... As soon as Middletown opened up, I jumped on that. It’s great coming back to town and working where you grew up,” Puorro said.
Inglis, a 1992 grad of the Police Officer Standards and Training Council who was hired that same year, became a field training officer in 1994, “where he trained several members of our department, some of whom are members of our command staff, some of
whom are speaking into the microphone right now,” McKenna said.
In 1994, Inglis was among the MPD’s first certified mountain biking officers. Two years later, he joined the major investigations unit and spent a year in the detective bureau and five in the narcotics unit.
In 2002, Inglis joined the SWAT team and became certified by the FBI and the Center Mass Law Enforcement Training Institute as a police sniper. He went on to become a sniper instructor and eventually team leader at MPD.
Inglis is now a supervisor on the patrol team. “It’s been a hell of a career. I’m on the midnight shift now, so, if I look a little pale, it’s because I worked last night,” he said.
Sgt. Dale Rowland, a 1992 graduate of Rocky Hill High School, earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Manchester Community College. He was a correction officer at the Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers, and was hired by MPD in September 1997. Rowland spent 11 years as a patrol officer in the North End, and was the police liaison to the North End Action Team, Timbro said.
Rowland has been a detective for 10 years, two of those in the special investigations unit, “where he investigated sexual assaults and child-related cases,” Timbro said. He has also been a part of the major investigations unit for the last eight years. “He’s investigated very serious cases, including murders, assaults, burglaries and robberies,” Timbro said, and earned an award for his work on the Kleen Energy blast investigation.
He was pinned by his wife Julie.
“Those of you who know me know I’m not a man of many words. As Sgt. Puorro said, it’s tough on the families sometimes. As a detective, I’ve gained a lot of experience working with great people, and I’m highly motivated to teach what I’ve learned to the younger officers so they can excel and achieve during their career,” Rowland said.
As the ceremony wrapped up, the chief spoke to Godwin.
“The lieutenant promotion, Dave, is very important. You’re going from working with the guys on an everyday basis. You’re entering the mid-level to upper management of the organization,” the chief said. “Now it’s your turn to make future leaders of the organization at your rank.
“Unfortunately, you’ll be in a lot of boring meetings with us, but they’re pretty important,” the chief said to laughter.
He then turned serious. “You’re going from being a peer to having your peers look up to you for guidance, decision making. The friendship is still there, but now there’s a fine line between ensuring the people under you are held accountable, holding yourself accountable,” the chief said.
“The four of you were pulled up and selected for a reason: because we know you can do the job,” McKenna concluded.