Interim Chambersburg police chief picked
CPD Sgt. Rick Morrissette was chosen by Chambersburg Borough Council to serve as interim police chief .(Photo: Vicky Taylor/Public Opinion)
(Chambersburg) — Sergeant Richard E. Morrissette has been picked by Chambersburg Borough Council night to serve the local police department as interim police chief during a search for a permanent replacement for Chief David Arnold, who is retiring at the end of this week.
Morrissette said he was honored with the confidence and trust council and Mayor Darren Brown had shown in asking him to step into the position while council searches for a permanent replacement for Arnold.
“I have no plans to seek the position permanently,” he said after accepting the temporary position. “When a new chief is chosen and comes on board, I will go back to being a sergeant.”
Brown brought the recommendation to Council in an executive session following the town’s governing board’s reorganizational meeting Monday night.
Coming out of the closed-door session, Council accepted Arnold’s resignation, which becomes effective this weekend, then announced Morrissette’s appointment as temporary head of the Chambersburg Police Department.
Morressette served in the Marine Corps from 1988-92, where he was stationed at Camp Fuji in Chambersburg’s sister city of Gotemba, Japan.
He joined the Chambersburg Police Department in 1993 and has risen through the ranks to become one of the department’s four sergeants. He was for many years a K-9 handler, giving up that position when his his second police dog, Jiggs, was retired.
Brown said he has been impressed with Morrissette’s devotion to duty and his leadership abilities during his two years as Chambersburg’s mayor.
He said he recommended Morrissette for the interim chief’s position after talking to officers on the force and watching the veteran sergeant interact with others. especially the other officers on his squad.
“I the fullest confidence that he will do the same with the Chambersburg Police Department as he leads (the department) in the interim until a permanent chief of police is found.,” he said.
In accepting the position, Morrissette urged Council to search diligently for a police chief with vision.
“Look for a new chief with vision not only in words but in actions through clear objectives that can be measured or seen,” he said.
Morrissette will move to the police chief’s office effective Saturday.
This article comes to us through a partnership between WITF and the Chambersburg Public Opinion.
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