The Brighton Town Board has appointed Dave Catholdi to be the town’s next police chief.
Supervisor Bill Moehle lauded Catholdi’s record in the Air Force and the police department.
“David Catholdi is a man that has by his leadership, by his actions, by his role as a Brighton police officer, shown that he has what it takes to be the next chief,” said Moehle.
Catholdi, who has been with the department for 20 years, said he’s proud of its work. He doesn’t expect to make big changes at this point outside of its outreach efforts.
He called the new efforts “Community Policing 2.0.” Catholdi said that over the last decade, outgoing Chief Mark Henderson was the face of the department. He wants to involve younger officers in community relations.
He also stressed the need to educate officers on the high stakes of every stop.
“The fact is not lost on me that we are as good as our last call for service,” said Catholdi. “All the good will, all the community engagement, that this chief and the prior chief have done can be lost in a moment’s heartbeat.
“And that fact is not lost on me. So I want to make sure our officers are highly trained and they live up to the standard that we set for them and they live up to the highest standards of the community.”
Catholdi will be sworn in next Wednesday before the Town Board meeting.
As for Henderson, he’s joining the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester as the Regional Director of Community Security.
