Herlihy named chief of WPD

By Connor Linskey
Posted 11/11/20

Last Tuesday, the Village of Walden announced the promotion of William Herlihy to chief of police effective Oct. 28.

He previously served as Walden’s provisional chief of police, beginning …

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Herlihy named chief of WPD

Posted

Last Tuesday, the Village of Walden announced the promotion of William Herlihy to chief of police effective Oct. 28.

He previously served as Walden’s provisional chief of police, beginning on July 31.

“After an extensive search and interview process, we felt that William Herlihy was the best fit for the position,” said Village Manager John Revella.

Herlihy comes into this new position with plenty of experience in both law enforcement and the Village of Walden Police Department. He is in his twenty-seventh year in law enforcement. His career began as a police academy recruit for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in 1993. Upon graduating from the police academy, he began to work for the Village of Walden Police Department in 1994. He then accepted a full-time police officer position with the Town of Wallkill Police Department in 1995 before returning to Walden in November of 2000. He was promoted to sergeant in the Walden Police Department in 2012.

In 2013, Herlihy began working at the Village of Montgomery Police Department as a sergeant under Chief of Police John DiMilia and Deputy Chief Steven Walsh. In 2014, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant under Chief Walsh. When Chief Walsh resigned, effective March 7, 2020, Herlihy took command of the police department as chief of police.

Michael Hembury, a Village of Montgomery Trustee, noted that Herlihy will continue to serve as the chief of police in both the Village of Walden and the Village of Montgomery.

Since taking over as chief of police in the Village of Montgomery, Herlihy has had to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, adjusting policy, procedures and response protocols. He also secured personal protective equipment for the agency’s personnel.

As Village of Montgomery chief of police, Herlihy was responsible for preparing the department to ensure the safety of the demonstrators, citizens and agency personnel for two Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

Walden Village Clerk Marisa Kraus noted that Herlihy has his work cut out for him as the Village of Walden chief of police.

“We look to Chief Herlihy for leadership within the police department as we tackle comprehensive tasks like accreditation and the governor’s Executive Order 203,” she said.