Mayor expresses trust in new chief

To the editor:

I just wanted to provide the general public with a little more information regarding the decision to promote Tracy Layman.

This decision was not politically motivated, it was not personal, there was no ill intent in making this change and no outside influences were considered in making this change.

The timing might not appear as the best right now as we had recently lost two officers to other area departments but those positions have been filled by capable officers who will work hard to serve and protect.

I had to look at the big picture, I had to consider Dunkirk going forward and I had to go with my gut on this one and trust that all will see this for what it is, and that is to do the right thing for the citizens of Dunkirk and for the betterment of the Dunkirk Police Department.

Tracy Layman is a very capable and proven leader having served as a police officer in some capacity for 30-plus years, which includes serving as town marshal (chief) in Redkey. Tracy is excited to breathe new life into our police department and will do an exemplary job as chief. 

I intended to have this in place immediately but it just didn’t happen that way — things out of my control. Again, I commend all within the department on holding it together those couple days.

I knew Tracy was the right man for the job about four years ago when I first won the last election for mayor. My oldest son was pulled over for speeding in Dunkirk by Tracy, and was given a citation, not a warning. Obviously I wasn’t happy with my son as I have always expected him to drive responsibly and the citation was the right thing to do. I hoped it would teach my son a lesson, and it has.

I later heard that Tracy was initially considering a warning because he was my son, but he decided to go with the right thing to do and did indeed write him a ticket. Now there’s a man you can respect and trust.

I actually talked with Tracy shortly thereafter about considering the position then, but he respectfully turned down the offer as he felt there were other more senior officers that might be offended by that move, and I respected that decision.

Tracy is a man of integrity and will always do the right thing no matter who it is or what that person’s capacity is. He’s honest and fair and one I trust implicitly to take Dunkirk’s police department to the next level.

Please give Tracy your respect and welcome him in as Dunkirk’s Chief of Police. You will be happy with this change.

Thanks again,

Gene Ritter

Mayor of Dunkirk