Swope

At an Altoona Police Department ceremony Friday held to recognize two retirements, several promotions and two new hires, outgoing Police Chief Joe Merrill cited the maxim that a leader’s goals should include arranging for a successor who’s better than himself.

“I feel confident that is happening here,” Merrill said of now-former deputy Derek Swope, whose experience since being hired in 2011 is “rich and extensive,” including stints in tactical operations, narcotics and firearms investigations, grand jury and wiretap cases, undercover operations, cell phone forensics, labor law, personnel, internal affairs, background checks for new hires and administrative work — including tenures as acting chief when Merrill was acting city manager or on medical leave, Merrill said. Moreover, Swope “is a genuinely good person who deeply cares about his employees and the community,” Merrill stated.

Merrill, who’s leaving to become police chief in State College, has been “an amazing friend and mentor for 15 years,” serving as Swope’s field training officer, demonstrating pride in his work, knowledge of its intricacies and a methodical approach, new Chief Swope said. “I modeled my career after him.”

Friends like Merrill are “hard to come by,” Swope stated, recalling Merrill showing up in the middle of the night once while off duty to make sure Swope was OK when “I was overwhelmed and my head was spinning.”

In modeling his coming tenure after Merrill’s time as chief, Swope will seek to ensure that the community is not only safe, but that it trusts the department’s officers, Swope said.

That will come with being as transparent as possible, paying attention to the “complaint process” and ensuring that officers live up to the heavy responsibility that comes with their power as enforcers of the law, Swope said.

The right attitude for any police department “absolutely comes from the top,” he said.

Merrill exemplified that attitude, and he intends to follow suit, Swope said.

Still, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous,” given that 40 years of experience — 20 each for Merrill and fellow retiree Sgt. Tom Venios — “are walking out the door,” Swope told the assembled department employees and family members. “But I take solace in knowing that I’m surrounding myself with exceptional police officers who take pride in the work they do every day.”

The other promotions: Lt. Nathan Snyder to deputy chief; Sgt. Shane Strobel to lieutenant; Cpl. August Stickel to sergeant; Cpl. Matthew Angermeier to sergeant; Patrolman Stephen Fox to corporal; Patrolman Randy Miller to corporal; and Patrolman Samuel McCoy to corporal.

The new hires, sworn in Friday: Tyreek Husser, who came through the police academy at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and who will start 16 weeks of field training Monday; and Benjamin Winfield, who will start at the academy at IUP within two weeks.

He intends to hold them accountable to the departmental ideals of honesty, integrity, humility and professionalism, Swope said.