The city of Belfast appointed a new deputy police chief from within its department.
Sergeant Jennifer Hatch was promoted by a unanimous vote of the city council on Thursday following a monthslong search to fill the position after the retirement of the previous deputy chief this fall.
“I hope everyone feels tonight how proud we all are, not just of Sergeant Hatch but of all of you in the amazing department that we are building,” City Manager Erin Herbig, who was part of the search committee that selected her, said before Hatch was sworn in on Thursday. “This is just another piece and an exciting step of that.”
The deputy chief position had become dormant in the city but was brought back to life in 2019, partly to help the chief manage an increasing administrative workload, the Penobscot Bay Pilot reported at the time. It was filled then by Gerald Lincoln, followed by Dean Jackson after Lincoln became department chief in 2020.
Hatch will be responsible for “delivering police services in an innovative, professional and compassionate manner” while working to address community concerns and make the city a great place to live and work, according to Herbig’s meeting report.
A local patrol sergeant for three years before her promotion, Hatch previously worked for the Waterville Police Department for 17 years, 10 of them as a supervisor, before coming back to Belfast. She was also a reserve patrol officer in the midcoast city from 2003 to 2008.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Chief [Bobby] Cormier and the members of the police department in continuing to bring this department forward, and I look forward to where we can go with that,” she said Thursday.
