A Police Chief for Hudson

It was standing room only at the Central Fire Station on Monday morning where Hudson residents and elected officials, as well as people from farther afield, gathered to witness the swearing in of L. Edward Moore, the new chief of the Hudson Police Department. It would have been a great opportunity to commit a crime in Hudson, since it seemed that all of Hudson's police officers and all of Hudson's police cars were there at the fire station.

Mayor William Hallenbeck was the first to speak, stressing the importance of public safety and cooperation among agencies and expressing the desire that the HPD "be the best that it can be." Police commissioner Gary Graziano, who made the appointment formally and publicly at the swearing in ceremony, spoke of Moore as "a guy I have come to respect in the short time I've known him." He explained that, before making the decision to appoint Moore, he sought out information that would not come out in an interview or be included on a resume: "what peers and the rank and file think of him as a leader." Graziano reported these responses: "He's a great guy"; "Everybody here respects him"; I learned a lot from him"; "He's a cop's cop."

After being sworn in by his brother, Livingston town justice Robert Q. Moore, the new police chief delivered his own address to the audience, in which he called Hudson "a city that is improving daily," characterized himself as a "tough boss" who will "demand excellence," and identified quality of life as a top priority. He called himself "a super proponent and advocate for the officers on the force" and made a commitment to building teamwork and esprit de corps. 

Moore concluded by saying that he had loved being a state trooper and he was now going from "one job that I absolutely loved to another that I will absolutely love," and he promised not to let us down.

COPYRIGHT 2013 CAROLE OSTERINK

Lance Wheeler's video of the swearing in ceremony can be viewed here.