RonYoung,cop who started New Milford motorcycle unit, retires after 25 years: 'I got to do a lot'
Jul. 26—"It was something I always wanted," Young said, "and it's also something my great uncle Milton did in Savannah... and I always said I would like to bring that to New Milford and do the same thing he did, and I was able to get it done."
Young, who described himself as "an old school police officer," retired from the New Milford Police Department on July 6.
"It was time," Young said. "but I always loved what I was doing and had a great time. I leave it to the young guys to get out there and get it done."
'A pretty fulfilling career'
For Young, police work runs in the family. He said his late great-uncle Milton Hall was one of the first African American police officers hired in Savannah, Ga., in the 1940s, and that Hall served as deputy chief for the Chatham County Police Department. Young said he also has cousins involved in police work in Savannah.
Young said he worked as a police dispatcher for the New Milford community for nearly a year before he started his police career in Hartford. He graduated from the Hartford Police Academy in 1995 and worked as a patrol officer from 1995 to 1998.
Young transferred to the New Milford Police Department in 1998 where he said he "did everything New Milford had to do at the time."
In addition to a temporary position in the detective's bureau, Young served as a field training officer where he trained some of the officers that serve New Milford today. He said he also served as a SRO for the New Milford school district for about eight years.
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It was his great uncle's passion for motorcycles that inspired Young to launch New Milford's unit. Young said he and two other officers attended a two-week motorcycle training class in Yonkers, N.Y., where they learned how to ride motorcycles and put them out in patrol. He said the department has since used the motorcycles for traffic control, parades and funerals.
Now that he's retired from the department, Young said he's working on part-time jobs in the area to keep busy and riding his motorcycle. He is also embracing his love of golf by golfing at local courses like Candlewood Valley Country Club.
"I've had a pretty fulfilling career in New Milford," Young said of his retirement. "I got to do a lot."
