Retiring city Police Chief Joe Merrill has a successor.

He is Deputy Police Chief Derek Swope, named by City Manager Christopher McGuire — a choice that City Council ratified Monday.

Swope will take over as chief Jan. 2, shortly before Merrill becomes police chief in State College, his hometown.

McGuire made the in-house choice without looking beyond city staff.

“We had the right leadership in place,” McGuire said. “There was no reason to bring in outside (candidates).”

That leadership included Lt. Nathan Snyder, commander of the Patrol Division, whom McGuire named to succeed Swope as deputy chief.

Merrill created a good command staff from which to choose a successor, said Councilman Dave Ellis.

“It led to an easy decision,” Ellis said.

Swope proved himself on two extended occasions — first when he became acting chief while Merrill served as acting city manager, following the retirement of Omar Strohm from the managerial post at the beginning of 2024; and then when Merrill was out for a time due to surgery, McGuire said.

McGuire made his choice after a long conversation with Merrill, McGuire said.

“I took his input and felt very comfortable making that selection,” he said.

Swope, 39, is from Harrisonville, Fulton County. He graduated from

McConnellsburg High School, then Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2008 with a criminology degree.

He worked for 2.5 years for the Bedford County Department of Probation and Parole, supervising intermediate punishment and work release, then joined the Altoona Police Department as a patrolman in 2011.

He was promoted to corporal, serving as patrol supervisor; then to sergeant, working in administration, internal affairs and special investigations; then to lieutenant, overseeing narcotics investigations and special operations, and training for tactical response; then in 2023 to deputy chief, where he oversaw a variety of departmental operations, Swope said after the meeting.

Among “eye-opening” realizations during his time as acting chief was that “the buck stops here,” he said.

Another was that when surrounded by the right people, things are much easier, he said.

Such realizations came to him in vivid fashion after a Valentine’s Day 2024 homicide, when Merrill was acting manager, Swope said.

All the department’s divisions came together quickly, and a suspect was in custody by the end of the day, he said.

The “professionalism” that department employees exhibited that day included the capacity and willingness to “work with the community at all levels” — with both individuals and organizations — to solve a pressing problem, according to Swope.

He plans to continue a departmental focus on training and technology and to continue strengthening relationships with local organizations, and to continue listening “to what the community needs and wants,” he said.

He also hopes to continue the work of a task force to deal with homelessness — which involves getting people “the right resources,” he said.

Given that a large percentage of police encounters are by nature adversarial, Swope puts a major emphasis on continuing de-escalation training.

Since such training has begun, it has “helped exponentially,” resulting in lots of good feedback, he said.

It helps to realize that people police often encounter may be having “the worst day of their (lives),” he said.

The converse of such efforts is a focus on the well-being of the officers, he said.

That can help prevent burnout, he said.

“You don’t want to put them in a position where they’re having an equally bad day,” he said.

Among projects designed to ensure officers’ well-

being is a gym that has been installed in the police station, he said.

As for his own well-being, he relies on and is thankful for the support of his family.

Long hours and long days can start to wear on a person, but they’ve been “able to stick with me,” he said.

Swope has a wife and a 23-year-old daughter.

He lives in Altoona.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.