Photo by Richard L. Gaw                  

Presided by the Hon. Matthew Seavey, Joseph F. Greenwalt was officially sworn in as the new Chief of Police for the Southern Chester County Regional Police Department, during ceremonies held at the Bancroft Elementary School on July 13.

By Richard L. Gaw, Staff Writer

The Southern Chester County Regional Police Department (SCCRPD) made another important down payment on its future on July 13 when Joseph F. Greenwalt was sworn in as the department’s new police chief before more than 250 guests, elected officials and law enforcement officers at Bancroft Elementary School.

In addition to Greenwalt, the Hon. Matthew Seavey also swore in Sgt. Joseph P. Versagli III as the department’s new Lieutenant; P.O. Gregory P. Blue as the department’s new Sergeant; and Jose Alvarez, Christopher Galle, Amimarie Jefferis and David Madonna as full-time police officers.

Greenwalt, who had been serving as the acting police chief since the retirement of former Chief Gerald Simpson last December, was selected by the SCCRPD Public Safety Commission after an extensive vetting process.

Stephen Black, chairman of the SCCRPD Public Safety Commission, said a major factor in the Commission’s decision to appoint Greenwalt as the new police chief was his performance during his six-month tenure as acting chief.

“We did have some other qualified candidates who applied for the job, but they did not rise to the level where Joe was,” Black said. “We did a survey among the other officers and it came back very positive, so we figured why mess up something that was already working.”

“When I hired Joe for the New Garden Township Police Department in 2007, he came into a department that had a lot of officers who had been there a long time, and he immediately fit right in,” said Commission member Steve Allaband. “The key factor in our decision is the fact that Joe is a leader, and he is someone who in the face of any conflict will be right there leading his department.”

Chief Greenwalt begins his new post with more a quarter century of experience in law enforcement. After beginning his career at Widener University’s Campus Safety Department, he served as an officer at the Brookhaven Borough Police Department in 2001, and in 2002, joined the City of Chester Police Department in its patrol division and also became a certified field training officer and a member of the city’s SWAT team.

In 2003, he earned a Merit award for outstanding duties and in 2006, he received a Medal of Valor for his courageous actions during an officer-involved shooting. Greenwalt was also recognized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for his role in the arrests of several subjects operating a heroin ring and was named the City of Chester’s Police Officer of the Year.

Hired by the New Garden Township Police Department as a police officer in 2007, Chief Greenwalt quickly rose in the ranks of the department, being promoted to a Corporal and senior patrol supervisor in 2011; to Sergeant in 2017, when he designed the department’s first Community Services Division; and to Lieutenant in 2019.

Chief Greenwalt was also the recipient of the 2014 Gerald W. Davis award – the highest award given to an officer in the department, and is a three-time recipient of the DUI award. In 2016, he was awarded for his role in saving the life of a suicidal subject, and in 2020, he received the department’s Meritorious Service Award for moving the agency into an accredited status.

Greenwalt called the appointments “an historic moment for the department and the community.” Directing his comments to the members of the department, he thanked them for the trust they are placing in Lt. Versagli and him.

“It is our mission to provide you a certain leadership style that provides a continuously improving, positive and influential culture that you are proud of,” Greenwalt said. “It will be your commitment to the department and your loyalty to us that will push this police department to the next level; ultimately, providing the best police service to our communities.

“They say that in order for a police department to be a successful and a trusted pillar in the community, you must surround yourself with good people. I say that in order for a police department to be a successful and trusted pillar in the community, you must surround yourself with great people and listen to what they say.

“I can tell you by looking around this room that we have already surrounded ourselves with great people, but it will be up to us to listen to them, so that we may continue to build upon the trust that already exists.”

The ceremony began with a prayer from Police Chaplain Annalie Korengel, who asked the audience to offer their prayers for the men and women of the department.

“To the ones who run into danger so that the others may avoid it, stopping bloodshed, holding the broken and shielding us from it all,” she said. “To the ones who meet the dark side of humanity so we can go on never knowing, you are noticed, you are prayed for and your work is highly valued.”

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].