Col. Bradford Connor had a full plate Friday.

He had to finalize remarks for that night’s event; pick up plaques that would be presented and check on the seating plan for nearly 90 people including police chiefs, their spouses and a bevy of elected officials including Mayor Frank Picozzi, Senator Jack Reed and Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, who would all have remarks.

Connor handed over the printed program. He noted a change.

“Governor McKee canceled this morning,” he said speculating the respiratory bugs that have plagued the state had found the State House.

One would have imagined as the incoming president of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association, someone other than Connor might have been coordinating the installation ceremony held that night at the Crowne Plaza.

But that’s not Connor. He’s in the thick of things whether it is packing 200 boxes of food for the needy as a member of the Warwick Rotary Club; beside his officers at a developing armed bank holdup and chase as happened on Jan. 4 or as a board member of the Warwick Boys and Girls Clubs.

Mayor Picozzi is not surprised Connor ascended to the post of Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association in four years after being named chief.  Connor retired from the department in 2019 after serving 22 years. To decompress, he backpacked and hiked more than 500 miles before heading security at Women and Infants Hospital. When Picozzi was elected mayor, the post of police chief was posted. It was suggested he apply and he did.

Picozzi has seen what Connor can do when not given a lot of time, or for that matter the money he had hoped for. With American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) pouring into state and city coffers in the wake of the pandemic, Connor had plans for a renovated and technologically modernized police headquarters. It was to be the chief goal of his administration. The money went to address more pressing needs including the replacement and repair of aging sewers, repair of a key aqueduct serving the city’s water system, purchase of new sanitation trucks and fire apparatus to replace aging vehicles. Some of it went to police.

Bonding for a new or remodeled police headquarters seems out of the question now that voters approved $350 million to build two new high schools.

“We need those schools,” Connor said, expressing the hope they will be built.

Money is also a hurdle to Connor’s hopes to advance the association’s agenda of a municipal police academy that would include a firing range and EVOC, emergency vehicle operations course. Presently, two 20-week municipal police training classes, each with 55 to 65 recruits,  are conducted annually at Camp Fogarty in East Greenwich. The firing range is in Cranston, within ear shot of Cranston West and area residents who have objected loudly.  The academy won’t be using the Cranston range, Connor said. And until recently the EVOC operated at Quonset, but as Connor explains, that land is being developed.

Connor is looking to implement a feasibility study for a new academy and other association goals, which he estimates will cost in the range of $100,000.

Friday evening Connor opened his remarks praising the work of outgoing president Bristol Police Chief Kevin Lynch.

“Kevin has been a tremendous asset to the executive board and with his tenacity and vigor he’s been a force multiplier. Kevin’s experience, intellect and administrative acumen are unmatched. His fiery personality and ability to communicate effectively with passion and energy are what has made him such a fantastic leader,” he said.

Connor praised the work of the executive board saying Chief Lynch “got the ball rolling and set us on a trajectory towards improving legislation that would make the police profession more appealing to recruits and allow for greater retention.”

Connor said the association is on course to modernize the academy curriculum and conduct a feasibility study which would greatly improve recruit training, adding that Lynch “continues to campaign for change in our state retirement system, a system which greatly impedes members from retiring and continuing serving in a public safety capacity and also serves as an impediment to recruitment and retention.”

Connor plans to name a strategic planning committee that will look at the previous plan and establish timelines for measurable goals and bring forward new goals.

He is looking for goals to “further the mission to recruit and retain police officers, provide the best, most professional modern day training and provide them with an environment which will foster integrity, accountability and the highest ethical standards. This means all of our officers always being honest, transparent and fair in all interactions. Upholding the law impartially and without favoritism is essential to building and maintaining public trust.”

He said the first and critical step in this effort has been the body worn camera program which has put cameras on nearly all of RI first responders and their supervisors. He called accountability and transparency hallmarks of professional policing, and that the association is engaged with legislators to reform the Law Enforcement Bill of Rights and amend open records laws.

“Another aspect of our strategic plan will be to strengthens our social media presence and provide messaging to both our members as well as the public,” he said.

“Policing is not merely a profession; it is a partnership between law enforcement and the communities we serve. By actively involving our communities in the decision-making processes, explaining our concerns, and fostering open dialogue, we can build bridges of understanding and trust that are essential for effective law enforcement,” he said.

The invocation was delivered by the Most Rev. Richard Henning, Bishop of the Diocese of Providence, Father Robert Marciano, Chaplain of the department gave he benediction. Retired Supreme Court Justice Frank Flaherty administered the oath of office. Other officers installed are Woonsocket Chief Thomas Oates III, vice president; Cranston Chief Michael Winquist, secretary; South Kingstown Chief Matthew Moynihan, treasurer; Barrington Chief Michael Correia, sergeant at arms and Bristol Chief Lynch, immediate past president. Retired Chief Sidney Wordell is executive director.