The West Hartford Police Department celebrated a promotion and welcomed two new officers during a ceremony Monday afternoon.

By Ronni Newton

The West Hartford Police Department officially welcomed two new officers to its ranks and celebrated the promotion of an officer to detective at a ceremony in Town Council chambers on Monday afternoon with family, friends, and other department members and town staff and officials in attendance.

Dalton Gallagher has been promoted to the rank of detective, and both Christopher Chin and Jerry Cao have joined the West Hartford Police Department.

Mayor Shari Cantor said theses ceremonies are important to the community as well as members of the police department and their families. “We’re grateful to have all of you here today,” she said.

“From the bottom of my heart I feel that we have a premier department, not only in the state but in the country, and I want to thank each and every one of you … that commit to the dedication that’s demanded of this job every single day,” said Cantor.

Town Manager Rick Ledwith also offered his congratulations and thanks. “To our new officers, I want to extend a warm welcome to you. You have chosen a path of service that requires immense courage, integrity, and passion,” he said. “Our residents are grateful for your commitment to keeping our community safe and we are confident that you will serve with honor and uphold the values that define our police department.”

Ledwith said Det. Gallagher’s “hard work, professionalism, and dedication to our community” brought him to this moment, and that pride is shared with his family – now in its third generation with the West Hartford Police Department.

He also thanked the entire police department on behalf of the town. “You help make West Hartford a stronger, safer place for everyone, and we are deeply appreciative of your service.”

Chief Vernon Riddick said he very much appreciates the continued support of the town, and noted that the two new officers are not new to public safety; both come from other departments in the state.

Gallagher, whose father and grandfather both retired from the West Hartford Police Department, “is a cop’s cop. … You do it the right way,” Riddick said, treating people with respect.

He thanked Chin and Cao for choosing West Hartford at a time when they could have gone anywhere in the northeast or the country. “We are definitely grateful and appreciative that you did choose us, and I promise you you will not be disappointed.”

Assistant Chief Larry Terra shared some biographical information about all three who were honored on Monday.

Gallagher, he noted, joined the West Hartford Police Department in 2015, starting off in the Patrol Division. He has also served as a Field Training Officer, member of the Capitol Region Breaching Team, as a team leader with the Emergency Service Unit, and as a member of the Community Support Unit. He has “contributed to the apprehension of numerous dangerous felons, and conducted many complex investigations into criminal organizations, leading to the seizure of large quantities of narcotics and illegal firearms,” Terra said.

Gallagher was the 2023 Police Officer of the Year, and also been honored to receive Departmental Citations, Merit Awards, Unit Citations, U.S. Attorney’s Awards, and a Lifesaving Award.

Chin has spent the past six years with the Patrol Division of the New Haven Police Department, and is also certified as a Field Training Officer and Bicycle Patrol Officer.

His parents are from Jamaica, and had migrated to the Bronx, NY, where Chin was born. He was raised in New Haven, and was a member of the National Honor Society at Hillhouse High School, Terra said. After a year at Springfield College, he transferred to the University of Connecticut and after graduation joined the New Haven Police Department.

“He wanted to use his experiences growing up in the inner city to improve the quality of life in his community as well as enhancing the relationship between the police department and the residents,” Terra said, and is now looking forward to his career in West Hartford.

Cao was born in Boston, raised in the Farmington Valley, and spent more than 10 years working in the bail bond industry before pursuing his “lifelong dream of becoming a police officer,” joining the East Hartford Police Department in 2020.

In East Hartford, Cao has been a Field Training Officer and Evidence Technician, and earned a Crisis Intervention certification and multiple honors including the Distinguished Service Citation, Meritorious Service Citation, and the MADD Award. In joining the West Hartford Police Department, he “looks forward to serving a community he has always admired while staying closer to family and friends,” Terra said.

Cantor administered the oath of office to Gallagher, Chin, and Cao.

Capt. Daniel Moffo served as emcee of the ceremony. Chief Riddick gave the invocation.

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