BRATTLEBORO-Police Chief Norma Hardy, who previously served 26 years with the Port Authority Police Department of New York and New Jersey, is retiring.
Saying he spoke “with a heavy heart,” Town Manager John Potter announced Hardy’s March 30 retirement at the Jan. 22 Selectboard meeting.
“I’ve been working really hard to postpone this day as long as possible, but I know from extensive conversations with the chief that now is the best time for the next chapter in her life, and I thank her and wish her the all best,” Potter said.
Potter said since Hardy arrived here in July 2021, the town has “seen a transformation in the police department that has rippled out throughout town government and the community.”
He noted the chief’s “leadership and compassion” as leading to innovative policing strategies like the BRAT (Brattleboro Resource Assistance Team) unit, the community resource officer, and a fully staffed police program through Health Care and Rehabilitation Services, a Springfield-based provider of mental health care.
When Hardy arrived, she believed her distinct background as a Black woman with extensive law enforcement experience would be an invaluable part of that conversation, she said.
“I felt I could help change people’s minds about policing, particularly on a local level, by demonstrating all the things that a police department could offer,” Hardy said in a news release from the town announcing her retirement.
Current Assistant Chief Jeremy Evans will take Hardy’s post as the town’s 25th police chief. Captain Adam Petlock will be promoted to assistant chief.
Evans has served here for 27 years and “been a key support to Chief Hardy,” said Potter. He called Petlock an “invaluable member” of the police force for 15 years.
Potter noted that Hardy’s leadership with her team has been “excellent” and said, “They work together [and] support each other and everyone in the community.”
“I want to say how much we’re going to miss Chief Hardy, how much we appreciate her work, and how much I feel the strength she brought to this department will carry on that work,” Potter said.
Selectboard Vice Chair Oscar Heller echoed Potter’s thought. “Chief Hardy transformed the department, and the town owes her a great debt ... and we’ll all be very sorry to not have her at the helm,” he said, adding he’s also had “outstanding experiences” working with Evans and Petlock.
“I’d like to say thank you — not just to my department, but to the members of the community who gave me a chance,” said Hardy.
Community policing in action
Hardy previously retired as chief of the Port Authority Police Department, which oversees all New York and New Jersey transportation services, including bridges, tunnels, and airports, including the World Trade Center. There, she had 500 officers under her command.
In her 26 years there, she came up through the ranks as a patrol officer who “survived the first bombing of the World Trade Center [in 1993], and then I just worked my way up from there,” she told The Commons in 2021.
Hardy stepped out of retirement to serve here “during the critical period when communities across the nation were examining ways to reform policing following the death of George Floyd,” the news release observed.
She had previously served 26 years with the Port Authority Police Department of New York and New Jersey. After a few years on the job here amid rising concerns about downtown safety, Hardy developed the Downtown Safety Action Plan, which was approved by the Selectboard in 2024.
The plan added three officers to the force, paved the way for a substation in the Transportation Center, and formalized BRAT, a specialized unit of unarmed officers focused on de-escalation and connecting the public with social services.
During a recent Selectboard meeting, the police department presented an update regarding BRAT’s first year, noting that in addition to providing a regular presence downtown through foot patrols, the unit has responded to more than 530 incidents.
Hardy said she’s heard from store owners that the program has been a “positive step in the right direction,” as evidenced by a busy holiday shopping season.
“When I went downtown, especially with the Festival of Miniatures going on, it was great to see that the streets were full of people,” she said.
Potter said the Downtown Safety Action Plan, along with initiatives like One Brattleboro, a cross-sector collaboration among local government and other agencies in town, has not only enhanced public safety but also connected vulnerable populations with needed services.
“Chief Hardy’s guiding star has been her compassion,” said Potter. “It’s evident through the development of the BRAT unit, in the many excellent officers that she’s attracted to the department, and by the way she prioritizes listening to members of the community. Brattleboro benefited from both the wealth of knowledge she brought from her decades of experience, and from her thoughtful and careful approach to decision-making.”
As the police department heads into this new leadership transition, Hardy described both Evans and Petlock as leaders with a deep commitment to the people of Brattleboro and the principles of community policing.
New leadership
Evans, who holds a master’s degree in criminal justice, joined the department as a police officer in 1998. He rose through the ranks to become assistant chief in 2023. He has been an active participant in the One Brattleboro initiative since its inception and currently serves as board president for the Windham County Safe Place Child Advocacy Center and is a member of the Vermont Criminal Justice Council’s subcommittee on fair and impartial policing.
“I am honored to become the 25th Police Chief for the town of Brattleboro,” said Evans. “Over the past 27 years, my focus has been to build partnerships, which has resulted in many innovative programs.”
Under Hardy’s leadership, said Evans, the department has reoriented itself to more effectively face public safety challenges.
Petlock, who joined the department in 2009 and was promoted to captain in 2024, has been an integral part of the department’s outreach team and played a key role in implementing Project CARE (Community Approach to Recovery and Engagement), a partnership among the department and social service agencies formed in response to the opioid crisis.
He has also been a driving force behind the Situation Table, a collaborative community model where social services, law enforcement, and health partners meet weekly to identify and collectively help people reduce their acutely elevated risk.
Hardy expressed her gratitude to the Brattleboro community, the administration in town government, other town departments, and to the staff at the Brattleboro Police Department, who she said embodies the mission of the department by holding themselves to the highest standards of service and conduct.
This News item by Virginia Ray was written for The Commons.