Scotia Police Chief Thomas Rush will be stepping down from his position once village officials select a new leader for the department.
Mayor Kris Kastberg said he received a letter from Rush around the end of May informing him of his decision to return to his previous position as sergeant. Rush was appointed chief of the department in February 2010 after John Pytlovany retired. The decision to step back comes after Rush failed to pass two civil service exams required for the position. He could have taken the test a third time, but if he failed it then, he could not be reappointed.
He was our longest serving officer and our senior sergeant and definitely an excellent police officer, said Kastberg about Rush’s appointment. `At the time, there was no civil service list for chief so we were pretty much free to appoint anyone we wanted. He was just the natural choice.`
Kastberg said he would not release Rush’s letter since it deals with personnel matters, but he explained what it contained.
`[The letter] just said he has enjoyed the past 15 months, but for personal reasons he would like to step back to the position of the sergeant,` said Kastberg.
Kastberg said although it was not a total surprise to him that Rush decided to step down, he applauded Rush for effectively addressing many issues in the village. There are only two more years of service needed before Rush reaches full retirement, said Kastberg.
Rush said the village `needs to move forward` and that was one of the reasons he decided to step down. He also touched on the civil service exam playing a role in his decision.
`I am not a test taker, and that speaks for itself,` said Rush. `They need to move along and it is what it is.`
As chief, Rush said he learned a lot about administrative tasks, but also learned more about handling personnel and citizen complaints, which he said is probably the toughest thing he did.
`When you are in a small department, you wear an awful lot of hats and probably a lot more hats than some of the chiefs in the larger departments and that is even so for the officer themselves,` said Rush.
Rush said he wasn’t pushed out and village officials wanted him to remain as chief.
`I know the trustees and the mayor would have liked to have me there,` said Rush.
Talks on hiring a new chief are ongoing, and Rush will remain at his post until the Board of Trustees appoints someone to the position.
If the board hired solely on the civil service exam tests, which they are not required to, there are two perspective candidates.
`There are two people that took the chief’s exam and passed it,` said Kastberg. `We don’t have to hire those people so what we are going to do is advertise the job and interview people and appoint who we think is necessary.`
Scotia Sgt. Daniel Thouin took an internal promotional exam for the position of chief on March 5 and passed. Also, on March 6, 2010, Lt. Jason Temple, of the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office took an exam for the position and passed. Both test results are valid for a period of four years.“
