New chief of police meets his personnel

The new chief says he's committed to maintaining the department's national certification.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Patrick Berarducci spent his first day at the helm of the township police department meeting personnel and getting to know the department's inner workings.
"It's a very good department," said Berarducci, 56, formerly of Medina.
He started the job Tuesday, retiring last month after 28 years as an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Trustees hired him in late December, agreeing to pay him 93,200 per year. His contract runs for three years.
He has some concerns as he begins his duties.
"I'm looking at deployment of manpower," Berarducci said. "I want to make sure we have enough people on a shift. I'm looking at an almost fundamental change in how orders come down."
The new chief said he wants to allow the lieutenants to determine strategies to deal with issues on their shifts.
If, for example, a lieutenant says he needs additional officers for a particular shift to address problems anticipated through crime analysis, officers will be assigned to help.
How he sees things
"The patrol division is the heart and soul of a police department, and I want to make sure we're doing all that we can," Berarducci said.
Then he plans to hold people accountable for things that happen.
"Some of it we can't do anything about, but other things, maybe we can," he said.
Berarducci is a native of Youngstown's South Side and worked for four years as a city police officer before joining ATF. Berarducci graduated from Wilson High School and Youngstown State University.
Kathy Miller, trustee chairwoman, believes he'll be a good fit.
"Once everyone has an opportunity to meet him, I think they'll really enjoy working with him," she said. "I think he'll be very good for the community, and they'll feel he's looking out for them."
Miller administered an oath of office Tuesday to Berarducci so he could perform his duties. He'll be formally sworn in at 5 p.m. Thursday at the township government center before the 5:30 p.m. regular trustees meeting.
Accreditation
The career law enforcement officer said he intends to retain the department's national certification through the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies. The department earned the certification in March 2006.
Officer Dean Lysowski, who was in charge of the department's accreditation process, will continue in that capacity, but Berarducci also named Lysowski his executive assistant.
"He's my go-to guy to help work through these issues," he said. "It's an important position he has, and I hope it shows the public the confidence I have in him."
Former Chief Jeffrey Patterson left in July for another job, and Jerre Patterson, a captain, worked as acting chief before Berarducci's arrival.
Berarducci and his wife, the former Judy Barrett, are renting a condominium in the township. They had three children. A son, Patrick B., will graduate from Ohio State University's law school in May, and a daughter, Megan, is a senior at John Carroll University.
A younger son, Justin, was born with severe brain damage and died last year after living for 20 years at the Hattie Larlham Foundation in Mantua, Ohio.