Captain Ed Huey announces retirement

Terry RogersHeadlines, Milford Headline Story, Police & Fire

Captain and former Acting Chief of Police Ed Huey announced his retirement recently

On February 17, Captain Ed Huey announced that he was retiring from the Milford Police Department as of March 1st. Huey had recently served as Acting Chief of Police while the city searched for a replacement for Kenneth Brown who retired in August.

“I have been very blessed by God to have been able to serve for 37 years, 33 of which were served in my hometown,” Huey wrote on social media. “I feel so thankful for the support you have all shown me over the years, especially through the last eight months. I was extremely humbled by your thoughts, prayers, messages and posts, etc. I have had a fantastic career and thankful that God brought me home safely to my wonderful family each day. I respectfully ask you to please offer Chief Ashe your support as she leads some of the finest officers and civilians into the next chapter.”

Huey, who held badge number 5121, was born and raised in Milford, graduating from Milford High School in 1984. The youngest of eight children, Huey was a member of marching band, soccer and track. He attended Delaware Technical and Community College, graduating with an Associate’s in Applied Science in Criminal Justice.

“I served in the Carlisle Fire Company both as a junior and adult member,” Huey said. “I became a state certified Emergency Medical Technician and served on the ambulance crew for about two years. I began my career in law enforcement as a seasonal dispatcher in Rehoboth in 1985 and returned as a seasonal officer in 1986.”

Huey worked for Laurel and Seaford before coming to Milford in 1989, completing his field training on November 4, 1989. He was promoted to the rank of Patrolman First-Class on September 18, 1990.  He remained as a patrol officer until 1991.  In August of that year, Huey was sent to the Virginia State Police D.A.R.E. Officer Training program and became a Drug Abuse Resistance Education program instructor for the next three years.

“In September 1994, the City of Milford obtained a grant called the North Milford Initiative program and I was assigned to the Department’s newly created Community Policing initiative aimed at addressing root causes of criminal activity in that area during the crack cocaine epidemic,” Huey said. “Initially, I was assigned to walk foot patrols in the problem areas, conduct surveillance operations and serve as a part-time drug detective.  As part of that initiative, I helped clean up vacant lots used to dispose of articles such as old washing machines, refrigerators, brush and other debris.  i also became a trained specialist in covert and technical surveillance and used these skills to help in the closing down of a problematic bar which was the site of many serious assaults, and an open-air drug market.  The City was able to purchase the property where the bar once stood and while serving on the Delaware Community Clusters Against Substance Abuse Program Executive Board, Huey assisted in securing a federal grant to tear down the building and replace it with a Community Head Start educational facility.”

Huey transferred back to the Patrol Division in 1996 where he served for several years.  The Milford Police Department made a decision to pursue national accreditation and Huey was selected to author the Departments Policy and Standard Operating Procedure Manual and serve as an accreditation manager.  As part of the accreditation process, Huey was able to install monitoring cameras in all prisoner holding cells and movement areas, research and implement procedures that were considered best practices by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). The accreditation project was placed on hold when laws passed demanding prisoner holding areas for juveniles and adults, and for males and females had to be separated by sight and sound, and our building was not compliant.

“I was also able to develop an electronic call taking software which after some modifications by the City’s IT Manager during the Millennium Scare, (where computer scientists were concerned that the computers in service then would read the year of 2000 to be 1900) stayed in Service Until 2009,” Huey said. “Additionally, during that time frame, I also was able to learn about the states 800 MHz radio system and, between 2005-2014, performed all installations of emergency equipment including lights, sirens, and radios in Milford’s police vehicles at a savings to the city.

Over the years, Huey’s responsibilities included Internal Affairs investigations, fleet management, IT management, Dispatch Center Manager and he was also involved in the hiring process of officers.  Additionally, he was tasked with the development of a City All-Hazards Emergency Operations Plan, undergoing multiple trainings from DEMA in matters such as Volunteer Coordination, Rapid Needs Assessments, managing Debris and Clean-up, Emergency Communications and various other Emergency Management Responsibilities.

“I also chaired a committee in 2008 with other members of the department to build out new software to move the old Access database system of records of Calls for Service to a new comprehensive Computer Aided Dispatch System and Records Management System.  That System went live in February of 2009,” Huey said. “I was also assigned as a liaison to assist a third party vendor hired by the City to update the Emergency Operations Plan.”

While performing all his duties with the police department, Huey also returned to school, earning his bachelor’s in Administration of Justice from Wilmington University. He also earned a private pilot’s license in rotorcraft from Horizon Helicopters in Newark. Huey has been very active in the community, volunteering for band boosters with Milford High School and Sussex Tech as well as the Boy Scouts of America Troop 116. He is also active in his church. Huey is married to his wife, Kim, and they have three sons, Alex, Brock and Logan. All three sons have earned the rank of Eagle Scout and Brock has followed his father’s footsteps into law enforcement.

“In January of 2022, I was promoted to the rank of Captain/Deputy Chief of the Milford Police Department.  In February, the Department began work on an upgrade of the Computer Aided Dispatch and Records Management Software as a joint venture with the Smyrna Police Department,” Huey said. “I built a 10 station computer lab in the classroom area of the current building so the two departments could work together on the project with remote and in person guidance from Tyler Technology/ New World Public Safety. In June of 2022, Chief Kenneth Brown announced his retirement and went on terminal leave.  I was officially appointed on August 8, 2022, as Captain/Acting Chief of Police where I continued to serve as the Department’s Captain, Police IT Manager and Acting Chief of Police.  Between January 2022 and November 2022, I accumulated over 800 hours of uncompensated time to ensure that the CAD/Records program was operational while also performing the duties of the Captain and the Acting Chief.   I continued work on two custom interfaces within the CAD system that would transfer the actual incident reports into the Law Enforcement Records Management System, making them easier to search through a single database rather than switching between different software offerings.”

Upon his announcement that he would retire, Huey received an outpouring of support from the local community.

“Now that I have been able to get my thoughts together as to what I want to say, Eddie, congratulations on your retirement,” Tracy Grose, daughter of the late Chief Bobby Taulbee, said. “We go way back, and I can honestly say you are one of the most genuine people I have ever known. Thank you for our dedication and determination to the City of Milford! But most importantly, thank you for being there for my family during one of the most difficult times of our life. You took the reins and made my daddy’s funeral service a true celebration and the respect and honor he was given on that day will always be close to my heart. Thank you for being at the hospital for hours and hours supporting us and for always laying a wreath at the head of his stone. I can honestly say that my father is looking down and smiling with your accomplishments and dedication toa. Department that he truly gave his all to build for his guys.”

Melissa Brittingham commented that she was sure Huey would continue to do good things in his retirement. Em Ann commented that she was thankful to not only call Huey a co-worker but also a friend.

“Ed, you have served our community with honor and excellence and Milford is the better for it,” Eric W. Evers commented. “We are all grateful for your dedication, your professionalism and your humble commitment to doing the best for this town. I know that God still has lots to come for you and ways for you to be blessed and for you to be a blessing in new ways. Thank you.”

Kevin Twilley stated that he was glad to call Huey a friend while Kelly Pepper commented that the city was blessed to have Huey for so many years.

“Milford became a better place with you in it, Ed and it will have an enormous void on March 1,” John H. Peterson said. “But I don’t doubt God will find you another endeavor to shine in.”

Huey thanked his former chiefs for the opportunities offered to him to expand his career and knowledge and to serve the residents of Southern Delaware for nearly 37 years. He is also extremely humbled and grateful for the outpouring of support over the past few weeks.

“I’d like to thank everyone not only for the birthday wishes but the tremendous outpouring of well wishes concerning my retirement,” Huey said on social media. “It was humbling to read all the posts. Many of them brought me to tears, honestly. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I love you all.”

 

 

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