East Windsor narrows list of finalists for new chief of police to 4

May 12—EAST WINDSOR — The town has narrowed down its search for a new chief of police to four candidates, including two from inside the department and two from without.

Residents will be able to meet the four finalists for the job from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Scout Hall Youth Center, 28 Abbe Road.

East Windsor has been in search of a new chief of police since Edward DeMarco Jr.'s retirement in December. Since then, Deputy Chief Roger Hart has been serving as interim chief.

DeMarco was head of the East Windsor Police Department for two decades and served as director of emergency management since 2012.

"It has been 20 years since the town of East Windsor has hired a new chief of police, so the Police Chief Search Committee and I felt it was important to do a comprehensive search for our successor chief," First Selectman Jason Bowsza said.

Strategic Government Resources, a recruitment firm in Texas, conducted the search that resulted in the candidate pool.

The town received 14 applications, with nine coming from Connecticut, two from Illinois and one each from New Jersey, New York and Texas.

The four finalists are Hart, Interim Deputy Chief Matt Carl, Wethersfield Police Captain Marc Petruzzi and former New Haven Deputy Patrol Commander Steve Torquati.

All four will participate in Monday's meet-and-greet and partake in community tours and a number of interviews.

"We are looking forward to the upcoming interviews with our police chief candidates and encourage interested individuals throughout our community to meet the finalists next Monday evening," Bowsza said.

Hart served as deputy police chief for East Windsor from 2007 until DeMarco retired. Before coming to East Windsor he was at the Wallingford Police Department as a patrol officer, field training officer, sergeant and lieutenant.

Carl is also an in-house applicant who has been with town's police department since 1996. He has had many roles, including police officer, community officer, detective sergeant and administrative lieutenant.

He has a bachelor's degree in education from Central Connecticut State University and plans to receive his master's degree in Public Administration from Westfield State University this month.

Prior to serving in Wethersfield, Petruzzi had a long history with the Connecticut State Police.

He started out as a state trooper in 1999 and has had other roles such as internal affairs investigator, chief of staff with the office of administrative services, and commanding officer for various troop barracks.

Petruzzi also holds a master's degree in management from the University of St. Joseph and a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of Connecticut.

Torquati, like the other candidates, had many roles within his former police department in New Haven, including shift commander, district manager, sergeant, detective and SWAT sniper, among others.

He holds a master's degree in criminal justice from the University of New Haven and a bachelor's degree in political science from Quinnipiac University.

Collin covers South Windsor, East Windsor and Windsor for the Journal Inquirer.