Chief Clifford retiring from Schenectady PD in January

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The Schenectady Police Department will soon have a new police chief. Current Police Chief Eric Clifford sat down with NEWS10 to reflect on his career ahead of his retirement next year.

“It's been a long time. And it's really hard to go back and reflect on the entire time,” said Clifford, who is set to retire in January.

The 55-year-old police chief has dedicated 23 years to the department and has been leading it since 2016. He said there’s been so many proud moments it’s hard to pinpoint just one.

“It's been amazing. It's been something that I never thought I would have ever done. And I'm so grateful for everybody I've worked with, both internally and externally,” said Clifford.

He thanked the community for working together, especially around the tough cases they came across. 

“I couldn't have asked for more. I mean, we had some struggles along the way. They were more societal than anything else. And we came together as a family, as a team, and we got through it. And to me, it's been just amazing,” said Clifford.

He joined the department in 2002, worked his way up to lieutenant, before he took the lead. Clifford said they’ve worked to rebuild trust within the community, like in 2020 when he kneeled with Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters.

“This department is completely different than it was 30 years ago. And in a positive way. And it's not a disrespect to 30 years ago. Those men and women were doing a very difficult job at a very difficult time with very little guidance,” said Clifford.

He said the department has changed from within and recalls his time patrolling with the men and women on the streets at midnights. 

“We recognized that the old way isn't working. So we developed our own new way. And, you know, day by day, minute by minute, interaction by interaction, we just decided to change things up. And it seems to have worked,” said Clifford.

Although he’s watched the department’s growth over the decades, he said there are certain moments that still standout. 

“There's some things that happened on my watch that I regret that happened. But we've also learned from those things, and I really don't want to get specific on what they are. But we learn as we go and if there's mistakes made, we own up to them and we move on,” said Clifford.

The chief is tying up loose ends and will be pushing for the police department’s budget at Wednesday night’s city council meeting. He looks forward to spending more time with family in Florida and to see who Mayor Gary McCarthy chooses as the next police chief.

“One of the things I'm most proud of is we have a very strong bench here at the police department. We have three assistant chiefs that are all capable of doing the job. We have a captain that's capable of doing the job, and we have a dozen lieutenants that are capable,” said Clifford. “I know that whoever the mayor chooses is not only going to be the right person, but they're going to be ready for the job.”