Chief of Police

Edward R. Lennon, Jr. is the Chief of Police of the East Haven Police Department, a position he has held since 2016. Prior to his appointment as Chief of Police, Chief Lennon held the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant and Deputy Chief, and numerous assignments throughout his tenure. During his career with the Department, he served as the Compliance Coordinator for the Settlement Agreement between the Town of East Haven and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Upon completion of the strict terms of the Settlement Agreement, the Department showed unprecedented and significant compliance with all objectives, due largely in part to the oversight of Chief Lennon. The SA was dismissed after the Department met full compliance in December 2017. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Joint Compliance Expert praised his efforts to move the Department forward.

Chief Lennon has a strong commitment to developing and training employees to the highest standards of constitutional policing while also making sure the Department has and continues to have the most contemporary policies. Chief Lennon has made it his commitment to the East Haven community as well as the law enforcement profession to ensure that police are highly trained and educated, accountable for their actions, transparent, and responsive to the needs of their community.

Chief Lennon holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice as well as a Master’s Degree in National Security and Public Safety Management from the University of New Haven. More recently, Chief Lennon completed the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government Senior Executives in State and Local Government executive training program and the 2016 New England Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Chief Lennon is a graduate of the 66th session of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) and the 258th session of the FBI National Academy.

Chief Lennon was a recipient of the 2017 International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) 40 Under 40 Award and the 2018 Police Commissioners Association of Connecticut Distinguished Chief Award.

In 2019, Chief Lennon was appointed to a 3-year term as a Commissioner on the State of CT Judicial Selection Commission.