Town Board praises retiring police chief

Police Chief Perry Soule has been recognized for 31 years of service to the town after announcing his retirement from the Police Department.

The acknowledgment was given during a Town Board meeting last week.

Supervisor Jeanne Walsh said Soule has demonstrated a love of the community.

“We really appreciate the years that you put in,” she said. “As chief, as an officer and as a councilman, you’ve always been there for Rosendale. We appreciate your hard work and dedication all these years.”

Soule was with the de

partment from 1988 to 2001 as an officer and a sergeant. He left to take a position with the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office for eight years, during which he served from 2002 to 2005 as a Town Board member.

He returned to the Rosendale

Police Department in 2009 after being appointed its chief. Soule said working with the county helped him to appreciate the smaller geographic area involved in local coverage.

“We know our people and they know us,” he said. “How the agencies differ is that (town police) spend our entire eight hours within an 18mile area, so we know everybody.”

However, having a department with only 15 officers who primarily serve part time has its limits. “My job is to provide the best service possible with what we have,” Soule said. “Because certain cases in certain incidents require a lot of outside resources, that’s when we would reach out to the sheriff or the state police.”

Soule said the department’s importance has been

demonstrated by having officers recognized for keeping people alive. “Thank goodness we haven’t had a lot of homicides or a lot of shootings,” he said. “The most valuable things that we do is ... where my guys are out there saving people’s lives, whether it be a medical emergency or an accident where there are serious injuries and they are able to provide medical attention right away.”