New Police Chief Visits The Windsor Locks Senior Center Thursday

New Windsor Locks Police Chief Eric Osanitsch met with some of the town’s senior citizens at the Thursday.

Osanitsch, who on August 20,  told the crowd about some of initial observations and plans for the police department. He said the members of the department are dedicated and hardworking.

During his first few weeks on the job, Osanitsch said he has been well received by people in the community.

Osanitsch said he plans to make the police department a more professional organization. A department has to have professional officers and they have to be respected as police officers, he added.

The department will address things that concern residents such as speeding on town roads and other quality of life issues, he said.

Osanitsch said his parents immigrated from Austria, he was born in New York and raised in Connecticut. He served in the U.S. Army and worked 26 years in various roles in the Bristol Police Department before retiring as chief this summer.

“I think I come with a wide background,” Osanitsch told the senior citizens.

Referring to the of 15-year-old Henry Dang being struck and killed by a car driven by former officer Michael Koistinen, Osanitsch said he knew the town and department have been through a difficult couple of years. He said he had experiences in Bristol, helping the department deal with bad incidents in past years.

Osanitsch said you can learn from the past, learn from your mistakes and move forward.

“There’s no doubt over the past two years you’ve been through a rough time,” he said. “It’s time, from my perspective, to rebuild.”