‘100 PERCENT COMMITTED’
Joseph Centanni sworn-in as 19th police chief
WATERVLIET, N.Y. » Retirement didn’t last too long for former Troy Police Capt. Joseph Centanni. After retiring from the Troy Police Department in 2020, Centanni was swornin Friday as the 19th Watervliet police chief.
Centanni retired from the Troy Police Department in January 2020 after serving 25 years with the department.
The Watervliet Police Department has been operating under Acting Police Chief Lt. Brian Strock since May 2020, which is when city officials furloughed and eventually parted ways with former Police Chief Anthony Geraci.
City officials cited financial stress during the peak of the pandemic as the reasoning behind parting ways with Geraci. Mayor Charles Patricelli said due to a slight tax increase and federal funding, the city was able to now hire a new police chief.
“We are proud of the members of our police department, and I promise you that myself, the City Council, our city manager, and all our city staff will work with you to help achieve not only the best for you and your department, but for the best for the residents of the city of Watervliet,” Patricelli said to Centanni.
While with the Troy Police Department, Centanni served in the patrol bureau for many years, volunteering as a field training officer and was later promoted to sergeant.
Centanni also served as a detective sergeant before his promotion to captain. His previous assignments include patrol, planning and analysis, inspectional services and his most recent assignment in the detective bureau. Centanni was also a member of the emergency response team for 12 years. He was also in charge of an internal affairs report with the Troy Police Department related to the 2016 killing of DWI suspect Edson Thevenin on the Collar City Bridge.
Since retiring from Troy PD, he has been the director of safety & security for SUNY Empire State College. Centanni earned a Master of Arts in Social & Public Policy and an Advanced Master’s Certificate in Community Ad
vocacy from the State University of New York (SUNY) Empire State College and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. The new police chief is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
Centanni will lead a roughly 23-member department in Watervliet and will earn $90,000. The Friday afternoon ceremony was held at the Watervliet Senior Center.
“A few people have inquired about why I would re-enter [law enforcement] during such changeling times, my answer is quite simple and always has been, I absolutely love this job,” Centanni said.
“However, I believe in order to truly love something you need to understand it, be 100 percent committed and embrace the challenges that await you,” Centanni added. “I understand policing, I am 100 percent committed, and believe me, I’m well aware of the challenges that are included.”
Centanni spoke about why he was so interested in the chief’s position in Watervliet after being a finalist for the position a few other times.
“What I absolutely love about the city of Watervliet is it reminds me in many ways of the city of Troy, so there was a comfort level and there was a fit for me that felt great,” he said. “I love this job, I love urban policing.”
With Centanni being the third new police chief in recent years in Watervliet, he spoke about gaining the community’s trust.
“What I would say to [the community] is that they should be skeptical; words on paper are only one thing, my actions are going to matter,” Centanni said. “I recognize that stripes, stars, and bars do not earn me trust and credibility in the community, that is something that I have to earn.
“I have worked tirelessly to do that throughout my career, and today is my very first day to begin doing that in the city of Watervliet and that’s exactly what I’m going to do and the police department is going to do.”