Montville ― The town announced Tuesday it has hired retired state trooper Wilfred Blanchette as its first police chief.

Blanchette, 56, of Stonington, will lead the department when it officially departs from the Resident State Trooper program on July 1.

“We had a very talented pool of people to pick from and I felt after going through the processes he was the best fit at this time to launch our independent police department,” Mayor Ron McDaniel said Monday.

Blanchette comes to the town with 34 years of law enforcement experience. After 21 years of service, he retired from the state police in April 2022 before becoming the executive director of the Law Enforcement Council of Connecticut. He is also a part-time patrolman with the Groton Long Point Police Department, but will relinquish both roles when he is sworn in as chief.

McDaniel cited Blanchette’s experience and temperament as to why he is “best suited” to lead the town’s transition to an independent department.

“I was obviously incredibly humbled by the opportunity presented by the town,” Blanchette said Monday. “Very few people get to rise to the rank of chief of police, let alone on the onset of a fully independent police department.”

Currently, the town operates under the Resident State Trooper Program and McDaniel is the police chief, a position he previously said he’s not qualified for. Beginning July 1, he no longer has to worry about that responsibility.

Currently, Lt. Dave Radford oversees the department’s day-to-day administration and scheduling of personnel while Resident State Trooper Sgt. Chris Vaillancourt supervises the operation of the department.

After previous attempts to do so in 2012 and 2016 failed, the town approved an ordinance creating the independent police department last September.

That’s when McDaniel and the town started researching how to conduct the interviewing process before accepting applications and vetting candidates. The town had 12 applicants for the position, five of whom were interviewed.

“I felt no matter which way we went, we were going to be in good shape,” McDaniel said. “Chief-to-be Blanchette, at the end of the day, I thought he had the best skill set to lead us moving forward.”

Radford said he had a small part in the interviewing process. He said the independent department is a “huge step” for the town and will allow for a better policing environment overall.

“In my eyes it all comes down to suitability,” Radford said of the position. “I believed he was one of the best suitable for the town.”

Blanchette said that he was excited and intrigued to lead a department into its independence, though he added it was not an easy decision to leave his role as the executive director of the Law Enforcement Council of Connecticut, a job he said he is lucky to have.

As executive director, Blanchette said training recruits left him optimistic about the future of policing. He described himself as “community oriented” and is looking forward to being a part of the “fabric of the community” once again.

“For the men and women at the Montville Police Department, I’m excited to be a part their team,” Blanchette said.

k.arnold@theday.com