ZPD Chief Tony Coury to retire after three decades with the department

ZANESVILLE — Longtime public servant Tony Coury is saying goodbye to law enforcement.

Coury joined the Zanesville Police Department on Oct.18, 1991, and rose through the ranks, becoming chief in 2016. He has worked in nearly every facet of the department, from overseeing the drug unit to jail administrator to administration.

His retirement is effective July 8, bringing to a close a career spanning three decades. "I am leaving a lot of friends and people I have been around for over a quarter of a century," he said, "but it is time. I was told a long time ago by an officer named Tom Davis who said you'll know when it is time, and it is time. It is time to move to a new chapter.

"I have had the pleasure of working with a great staff, not only law enforcement, but support staff, the dispatch center, secretaries, maintenance people," he said.

Coury said he also took a lot of pleasure hiring people with disabilities, including Aaron Lynch, who is blind, and does data entry for the department.

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"It is a noble career," he said. "I had a lot of pleasure serving the community, meeting so many people." Coury sits on a number of boards, including MRDD, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Carr Center.

As a member of law enforcement, Coury said he saw the bad side of the community, "but we also see the good side. It is really enjoyable to have people come up to you and say you helped me with my child, or in my situation." Sometimes those interactions helped people turn their lives around.

"Back when I was a patrolman, I arrested a gentlemen on a Sunday afternoon for driving under the influence of alcohol," he said. A year later, the man returned to the police station looking for Coury. He had come to thank Coury for setting him straight. "He was appreciative because I did my job, he changed the course of his life, he said he probably would have died from drinking, but now he is able to enjoy his grand kids."

Coury worked the back gate at Zanesville High School football games for 25 years, and enjoyed working with and for Zanesville City Schools. His three year stint as athletic director at Bishop Rosecrans High School lead to lasting friendships with local athletic officials, like Scott Aronhalt at ZHS and Mark Ryder, now retired, at Maysville High School.

"It was a nice breath of fresh air to do something different," he said.

Coury said he was proud of the things he had accomplished during his tenure as chief, but is reluctant to take credit.

"I had a vision, and we got a lot of it done," he said.

One of his priorities was to upgrade the Public Safety building, which included new windows and a new dispatch center. New floors and security fencing around the area where the department parks its cruisers are already budgeted but not yet complete.

Cars and computers were also upgraded, and improvements were made at the former Times Recorder building, now home to the detective bureau and renamed the Tate-Richason Building. Officer training was important to him too, he said, and he tried to get his officers as much additional education as possible.

"All of the things I was able to accomplish, we got them accomplished working with my administrative staff and and staff at the ZPD. We had a vision, and others had ideas, and I enjoyed listening to their ideas."

Zanesville Mayor Don Mason said he appreciated Coury's more than 30 years "of service to the people of Zanesville, and his prior service in the United States Marine Corps."

Coury said the department is in good hands. "We have two captains eligible to take the test, I am sure whichever one takes the test and decides to become the next chief, the department will continue to move forward."

Coury said he has enjoyed good relationships with public safety entities. "I have had a very good relationship with the Zanesville Fire Department, the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office and the Muskingum County Prosecutor's Office.

"We (the ZPD) didn't always have a good relationship with the sheriff's office," he said. "But Matt Lutz and I didn't look at the color of each other's uniforms, we looked at how we could stop crime and drug activity in the City of Zanesville, and we have been very successful."

Coury will still be around. He is scheduled to graduate from Prince's Barber Academy in Zanesville, and hopes to start cutting hair professionally in both Zanesville and Dresden.

"It will be a nice change of pace from a job that is very demanding. I have been a public figure for a long time — I enjoy that, but I also enjoy my private life too."

ccrook@gannett.com

740-868-3708

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This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: ZPD Chief Tony Coury to retire after three decades with the department