ROSENDALE – Veteran law enforcement officer Scott Schaffrick has been named chief of the Town of Rosendale’s 15-member police force.
Due to the pandemic, the appointment was rather unceremonious with no pictures or handshakes earlier this month.
Schaffrick replaces Chief Perry Soule who retired on March 11. The new chief is no stranger to the department that patrols 21 square miles of hamlets including Tillson and High Falls.
Schaffrick was a part-time officer for the town in 1990 while attending the police academy in Hudson. In mid-1991 he transferred to the New Paltz PD and had several roles until retiring in 2014.
Upon his retirement, Soule recruited Schaffrick to return to his roots and oversee the day-to-day operations of the Rosendale department.
Schaffrick said there will be no major differences with him at the helm now. “The transition from Chief Soule to myself should be seamless as our philosophies are closely aligned.”
Touting the professionalism of the small department, Schaffrick is very proud of it. “The Rosendale Police Department is a smaller agency but many of our officers go onto long careers with larger agencies. That is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job, to watch a new officer come in and over the course of the next couple of years grow and mature into a seasoned officer. The Rosendale Police Department has a rich history of our officers being sought out and moving through the ranks of those larger agencies. I am honored to have been recruited and selected to continue overseeing that tradition.”
Asked about potential changes to policies in his department, the Chief said “A few years ago, I changed our motto to incorporate that sediment into to ‘Protect and Serve with Community First’. I believe in having very strong and lasting relationships with the community. That is something that I fostered in my career in New Paltz and brought here to Rosendale with me. I want our officers to walk foot patrols and stop into the area stores; I want them to take that extra time to sit and have a cup of coffee with a resident who has a problem; stop by one of our fire departments during a training night. People don’t normally call the police when things are going great in their life, they call when there is a problem or when they are in a time of need. The more that our officers are in tune to what is normal and can build relationships in the community, the better they can serve the community.”
Chief Schaffrick will earn $33,205 in his new position.
