Greece police begin new era with Todd Baxter
With bagpipes and a color guard and a minute-long standing ovation, a new era began Monday for the Greece Police Department.
Before a crowd of a few hundred community members, police officers from all over Monroe County and elected officials, former Rochester Police Capt. Todd Baxter swore his oath and became Greece’s Chief of Police. His wife Mary — his high-school sweetheart — pinned his gold badge to the pressed front of his dress blue uniform as his sons Zachary, 11, and Kevin, 17, stood at his side.
“I’m going to go to work right away, so I’m going to go out and make an arrest, if you don’t mind,” he joked with the dozens of uniformed Greece officers in the front rows during his swearing-in ceremony at the town’s Community and Senior Center.
Taking a more serious tone, he said he was humbled by being selected chief. “I am honored to be given the privilege and great responsibility of changing the Greece Police Department.”
Baxter, 44, takes command of the Greece Police Department following more than a year of scandal there. Two former officers are serving prison terms for drug and sex crimes, and others still face criminal charges or have been demoted for alleged wrongdoing uncovered during an internal investigation. Former Police Chief Merritt Rahn — who resigned in October — is scheduled to go on trial March 29. He’s been criminally charged with falsifying paperwork and other alleged wrongdoing.
Former Rochester Police Chief Robert Duffy, now the city’s mayor, gave Baxter effusive praise. Baxter has cited Duffy as one of his role models.
“I have learned as much from Todd Baxter as he ever learned from me,” said Duffy. “And as happy as I am today for Todd, I am happier for the Greece Police Department and the people of the town of Greece. They now have an outstanding chief who is an outstanding person.”
Greece Supervisor John Auberger, who administered Baxter’s oath, called the ceremony “a new beginning, a rebirth” for the beleaguered police department.
Citing Baxter’s “rock-solid” character, he said the new chief “has a vision for the Greece Police Department and that vision is excellence”
Baxter said he will work to restore community trust and to develop trust within his department. In coming weeks, he said, he will create a new administrative team and will continue hiring new personnel in order to bring the department up to the full complement of 94 sworn officers. And, he will make changes as called for in an internal police department review by Public Safety Director Joseph Loszynski.
As a result of that investigation, “I’ve been given a clean slate to start with, and that’s awesome,” said Baxter, who served 22 years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves.
Loszynski, part of the team that picked Baxter from 11 candidates vying for the chief’s job, said he knew when it came to selecting a new leader for the police department “there was no room for mistakes, miscalculations or misjudgments.”
Under Baxter’s leadership, he said, Greece Police are poised to “become one of the strongest police departments in the state, if not the nation.”
As one of his first official acts, Baxter named Lt. Brian Uhrmacher as his acting deputy chief. Uhrmacher, whom Baxter said was a “lighthouse” for the department in bad times, had served as the department’s acting chief since April when Rahn was suspended.
Then, Baxter took the rest of the day off. Since being named as the town’s pick for chief last month, Baxter’s been working his regular shifts for the Rochester Police Department and spending his off-hours at the Greece Police Department.
“My boys haven’t seen their dad in weeks, so I’m going to turn off the pager and cell phone and spend a little time with my family,” he said.
MCDERMOT@DemocratandChronicle.com
Todd Baxter
Age: 44.
Residence: Ogden.
Family: Wife, Mary; sons, Kevin and Zachary.
Education: Jefferson High School.
Experience: Rochester Police Department, 1987 to 2010; U.S. Army and Army Reserves, 1983 to 2005; retired as a master sergeant. Adjunct professor, Monroe Community College, 2009 to present. Instructor, Public Safety Training Center, 1992 to present.
