Community Corner

Congratulations Captain Jon Pardo! One of Madison's Own Promoted To Second-In-Command At Madison Police Department (With Video)

Pardo Will Take Responsibility For Police Department Operations; Police Chief Drumm Also Announces Plan To Hire Two More Officers, Bringing Department Up To Full Staff Of 28

After having started his career as a community service officer more than 21 years ago, giving out parking tickets in his home town of Madison, Jonathan Pardo was promoted to the rank of captain Thursday, making him second-in-command for the entire department.

Pardo will be in charge of the patrol function and will help Madison Police Chief Jack Drumm run the operational side of the department. Pardo, who lives in Madison and attended Daniel Hand High School, said he looks forward to bringing his in-depth knowledge of the community to his new role.

“I want to help finish what the chief started and continue to bring us up the level where we should be,” Pardo said. “We have a lot of guys doing great work, and it doesn’t get recognized enough.”

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Service in the U.S. Air Force follows graduation from Daniel Hand High School

Pardo moved to Madison as a sophomore in high school and graduated from Daniel Hand High School. He served in the U.S. Air Force for several years after high school. He later graduated from Southern Connecticut State University and went on to obtain a Master’s degree from SCSU in political science. He is married to Renee Pardo, an elementary school teacher at Island Avenue School, who also attended Daniel Hand High School.

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Pardo also has numerous other relatives in Madison and surrounding towns. “Grandparents, aunts and uncles, you name it,” he said. “The best part of my job is being from the community and being part of the community. I grew up here. My family is here. My kids go to school here. Being part of the community is important to me.”

Police Chief Drumm said Pardo’s in-depth knowledge of and connection to the community are just part of the reason why he was selected for promotion.

Integrity, congruity, trust

“When I met Jon, he was about to leave the department,” Drumm said. “He stayed out of all the nonsense. He picked up early on the direction I wanted to go. He has integrity, congruity, and he has the trust of the people in the department and in the community. Jon is signed on with the change of culture we want in this department.”

Drumm said that Pardo's promotion is consistent with his plans for the future of the department. He said the number of officers will remain at 28, instead of 31 as once contemplated.

Following Pardo's promotion ceremony, Drumm discussed with the Madison Board of Police Commissioners plans to hire two more officers to bring the department up to full staff. Brian Phillips, who was an officer in Groton Town, will start in a few weeks, and Harold "Frenchie" French, a retired state police officer, will start in about a month.

Enhancing leadership, clarifying authority

Drumm also said following the meeting that there may be some retirements from the police department by early July. "If those retirements are from command positions, we will replace them with patrol level officers," he said.

Madison Police Commissioner Edward Dowling said during the Board of Police Commissioners Meeting that he was pleased with Pardo's promotion and other recent developments in the department.

"We're enhancing the leadership, and clarifying authority, standards, and expectations," he said.

Police Commissioner Thomas Cartledge agreed and said it was encouraging to see the enthusiastic turnout of Pardo's fellow police officers. He praised their "professional manner and demeanor."

A journey of more than a year

Police Commission Chairman Eric Thornburg also expressed his enthusiasm for Pardo's promotion. He also thanked Chief Drumm, his fellow commissioners, and Selectman Al Goldberg for their work over the past year, as the police department recovered from problems that included allegations of police misconduct, police officers being fired, lawsuits, a series of related issues, and the high legal fees that go along with all of that.

"This has been a journey of more than a year," Thornburg said. "This is not by accident we arrived here tonight." He attributed part of the department's recent success to a strategic plan that called for appropriate levels of staffing on all shifts, which Thornburg said was accomplished with the help of the Board of Selectmen.

Thornburg in particular thanked Selectman Goldberg for his work on behalf of the police department. "Our success has a great deal to do with you, Mr. Goldberg," Thornburg said to Goldberg, who was attending the meeting.

"A great day for Jon, a great day for the town of Madison"

But everyone agreed the night belonged to Pardo. Following his swearing-in ceremony, he was surrounded by ebullient co-workers, friends and relatives congratulating him.

“This is a great day for Jon and a great day for the town of Madison,” Drumm said.

Pardo’s mother, Barbara Hendricks of Madison, attended the ceremony, along with Pardo’s wife Renee, his two children, and a room full of friends, relatives, and his co-workers, all wishing him well.

Hendricks said that she was very proud of her son and that he is well suited for the job of captain. She too said Madison is lucky. “He’s a wonderful son, and he’s a rock,” she said.


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