RITTMAN — Ray Arcuri was sworn in as the city’s fifth police chief by Mayor Bill Robertson during Monday’s council meeting.
Arcuri was the last one standing from a pool of 76 applicants who expressed a desire to fill the void being left by Chief Mike Burg when he retires Friday after 38 years in Rittman, the last nine as the city’s top cop.
The 25-year-veteran comes to the post from the Westlake Police Department, where he was a lieutenant and the officer in charge of the detective bureau for about 12 years. During his time with the department he helped close cold cases, build up the auxiliary, supervise the bike patrol, handle media relations and interviewed all job candidates.
“The timing was perfect,” Arcuri said in an interview Tuesday. …show more content…
After hearing the facts of a case involving the theft of a vehicle and trailer, Arcuri immediately offered an assessment of who probably did it. At first, other officers were a bit reluctant to embrace his conclusion. Ultimately, they discovered he was correct. When asked how he knew, Arcuri said he arrested the man a couple of years prior to the latest crime.
There was a case where a man was being investigated for the molestation of a nephew and great-nephew. Arcuri had a familiarity with the man due to some domestic violence calls. Within 20 minutes, he got the man to confess.
In 2005, he worked a cold case after a skull and some bones were found. While the victim was identified, the killer was not. Rittman officers also had a case involving bones found.
Councilman David Williams, who served on the search committee for a new police chief, said he was happy with the selection of Arcuri.
“I’m excited about his motivation,” Williams said. “He comes from a good department. He will be hard to keep up with; he has a lot of energy.”
The hiring process was a long one, and it was very competitive, City Manager Larry Boggs said. The 76 candidates were reduced to 21. Then, after they provided written answers to questions, the number was pared to three. The finalists took an assessment test, and Arcuri scored the highest. He was followed closely by Rittman Sgt. Robert
Arcuri was the last one standing from a pool of 76 applicants who expressed a desire to fill the void being left by Chief Mike Burg when he retires Friday after 38 years in Rittman, the last nine as the city’s top cop.
The 25-year-veteran comes to the post from the Westlake Police Department, where he was a lieutenant and the officer in charge of the detective bureau for about 12 years. During his time with the department he helped close cold cases, build up the auxiliary, supervise the bike patrol, handle media relations and interviewed all job candidates.
“The timing was perfect,” Arcuri said in an interview Tuesday. …show more content…
After hearing the facts of a case involving the theft of a vehicle and trailer, Arcuri immediately offered an assessment of who probably did it. At first, other officers were a bit reluctant to embrace his conclusion. Ultimately, they discovered he was correct. When asked how he knew, Arcuri said he arrested the man a couple of years prior to the latest crime.
There was a case where a man was being investigated for the molestation of a nephew and great-nephew. Arcuri had a familiarity with the man due to some domestic violence calls. Within 20 minutes, he got the man to confess.
In 2005, he worked a cold case after a skull and some bones were found. While the victim was identified, the killer was not. Rittman officers also had a case involving bones found.
Councilman David Williams, who served on the search committee for a new police chief, said he was happy with the selection of Arcuri.
“I’m excited about his motivation,” Williams said. “He comes from a good department. He will be hard to keep up with; he has a lot of energy.”
The hiring process was a long one, and it was very competitive, City Manager Larry Boggs said. The 76 candidates were reduced to 21. Then, after they provided written answers to questions, the number was pared to three. The finalists took an assessment test, and Arcuri scored the highest. He was followed closely by Rittman Sgt. Robert