Profile: Police Chief Duane Lovello Talks to Teens
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When Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello was a police patrol officer, most of his time was spent on the streets. One day when he was attempting to make an arrest, the suspect hid underneath the bed and pulled out a gun. The situation – the most dangerous he has ever encountered Lovello told the DHS Intro Journalism class - ended when the man killed himself.
For Lovello, one homicide in the ‘80s was very interesting, he told the journalism students during a recent interview. At that time Lovello was involved in the Alex Kelly investigation. Kelly, who was accused and convicted of raping a Darien girl, is now free after completing his sentence. Although Lovello has been involved in serious crime investigations, “I have never witnessed a serious crime,” he said. And, lucky for him, he has only had to use his gun as a threat and never to shoot anyone.
Lovello was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut and attended Stamford High School as a teen. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of New Haven and, later, a law degree. Although he is working as a police chief, he is also a lawyer. As a child he always wanted to become a firefighter and started his career as a firefighter in Stamford. But Lovello started to become interested in becoming a police officer after taking the entrance exam, he said.
He has been a police officer for twenty-six years and slowly worked his way up the ranks to become a chief in 2005. He now lives in Trumbull with a wife and two sons who are 10 and 12.
As a chief, much responsibility is handed over to Lovello. He is a general administrator, who takes care of the budget, the needs of the community and the day-to- day operations of the police station. Since he is not a patrol officer he is no longer involved in investigations, but when he was, he avoided being on the same case with a personal relation or friend which can be a problem in a small town, he said. Although he knows that patrol officers have the harder job, he feels that sometimes being a boss makes it hard to be personal friends with other officers at the station, Lovello added.
Lovello thinks that Darien’s big issues are traffic during rush hour, speeding, drinking and drug abuse. Heroin which is found in Darien occasionally, is a growing issue, he said. He strongly feels that the drinking age should remain at 21, he said, because he believes lowering the age won’t solve the alcohol abuse among teens.
When it comes to the drinking tipline at DHS, where tips on drinking parties can be called in to the police, he thinks that it is has been a positive thing for both teens and families because it has helped start conversation about drinking. He also feels that the Depot has been a positive place for teens regardless of the other things that may happen there.
Many teens are concerned about how a police officer will handle a teen party when they know alcohol is being served there. Lovello said that officers only enter teen parties when they know that someone is need of medical attention, or when a criminal activity like alcohol being served to minors or minors being in possession of alcohol is taking place. Teen drinking parties occur most often during the summer and homecoming weekend, he added.
A lot of the things that people think of police officers are not true, he said. For instance, Lovello and others do not ride around in SWAT cars; and by state law, quotas for traffic tickets are prohibited, even if the department is in need of more money.
The public may not know that kids can be taken into custody at the age of 12-16 years old, and that DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) arrests can be made regardless of age. Committing a juvenile offense, like shooting a pellet gun, can get you into a cell at the age of 12 or 13, Lovello said, but the names of a minor can’t get be printed in the newspaper when offenses are made. DWI’s are on a downward slide, right now, the chief added, because of all the road construction that has been going on in Darien.
Lovello said that becoming a police officer nowadays requires a college education, good language skills and communication skills. He also added that now it is more common for police officers to have law degrees.
Lovello told the DHS journalism students that he is very happy with the career choice he made in his life. Even though there is not a lot of serious crime in Darien, no abductions, or missing children, he said that he never gets bored on duty in Darien. Although he has never lived in Darien, he loves the personal satisfaction of being able to helping people and most especially help the town of Darien stay safe.