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Police chief's retirement ends Ferdelman family's 87 consecutive years of city service.

Neil Ferdelman's grandfather was a firefighter, and father also a police officer.

Staff photo by Nick Daggy Hamilton Police Chief Neil Ferdelman reads a book called "Officer Buckle and Gloria" to children Nov. 1, 2011, at Tiny Times Day Care in Hamilton.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Hamilton Police Chief Neil Ferdelman stands outside the police headquarters on Front Street. After 36 years on the force, Ferdelman is retiring. Lt. Scott Scrimizzi, named acting chief on Friday, will be his successor.

Contributed photo by E.L. Hubbard Hamilton Police Chief Neil Ferdelman stands outside the police headquarters on Front Street. After 36 years on the force, Ferdelman is retiring. Lt. Scott Scrimizzi, named acting chief on Friday, will be his successor.

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By Ed Richter, Staff Writer 10:55 PM Saturday, February 11, 2012

HAMILTON — He originally planned on going to the University of Cincinnati to become a lawyer more than three decades ago.

Neil Ferdelman never made it to law school. He decided to see what law enforcement was really about through the eyes of a police officer and now after 36 years the Hamilton Police Chief is retiring.

Ferdelman wanted to see what it was like to be a police officer and even though his father Robert was a Hamilton police lieutenant, he wanted a closer look.

After getting the approval to go on a ride along from then Chief George McNally, Ferdelman, 55, said his father called him and said “a few choice words” for making such a request.

Ferdelman went on the ride along with his father and said he saw a different side of him as he gave orders and took charge of an armed robbery scene.

“I said to myself ‘this is exciting,’” he said.

Ferdelman, a 1974 graduate of Garfield High School, took the police cadet test and placed first in the scoring. He went on to UC and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in urban police administration.

“I wanted to make lieutenant like my dad,” he said. “He pinned that badge on me.”

However, four months before Ferdelman became chief, his father passed away in April 1998.

“Naturally, he would have been happy to see me become police chief,” Ferdelman said. “He was one guy I could always go to get advice. He’d ride with me when I was a patrol officer and a sergeant.”

Ferdelman will retire as police chief on March 2 and be succeeded by Lt. Scott Scrimizzi, who was appointed acting chief on Friday.

When Ferdelman steps down, it will end 87 continuous years of his family serving in the city’s public safety ranks. In addition to his father who served from 1942 to 1976, Ferdelman’s grandfather started in 1925 as a city firefighter and retired as a fire captain in 1958.

The future for Ferdelman is open and he has no definitive plans as to what he’ll do next.

Ferdelman worked his way up the ranks of the HPD spending a few years as a cadet, 10 years as a patrol officer, four years as a detective, four years as a sergeant, two years as a lieutenant and the past 13 as the city’s top cop.

Ferdelman said he’d do it all over again. “It went fast and I enjoyed it overwhelmingly,” he said. “I didn’t enjoy the politics or budget cutting and the other negative aspects. It’s a thrill to provide good service, provide it well, and do good things for the community. Hamilton is a good city with great residents. They deserve the best police service that we can give them.”

As for accomplishments as chief, Ferdelman said making a concentrated effort to train the department’s captains and lieutenants to be ready to lead the department in the future.

Ferdelman said before the budget cuts, community oriented policing helped to build relationships and reduce crime rates in the city’s 2nd and 4th Wards.

“If a neighborhood trusts us, then they’ll help work with us to solve crimes,” he said.

He also said identifying the department’s core values of empathy, cooperation, excellence, justice and integrity.

Ferdelman said compliments have risen and complaints are down since implementing the department’s core mission.

Last month, several people from the city’s minority community raised issues about the lack of minority officers on the department and several issues of officer misconduct during a public hearing that was part of a site visit as part of department’s national re-accreditation process.

Ferdelman has been involved in Commission for Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies’ accreditation process for the past 21 years.

He said the accreditation process forces local police to open up to an outside panel. “It’s not a ‘good old boy’ network. It’s like a bank audit that does a professional, independent and thorough inspection.”

Ferdelman said many of the complaints or issues raised were “not a true representation of how the minority community sees the police department... We’ve built a positive relationship in the minority community and throughout the city. There are frustrations with government and those have included the police.”

“It’s important that people stay involved with local government and their police department,” Ferdelman said. “I believe the group of positive and dedicated guys we have here work with the citizens and can make a very positive difference.”

Like nearly everyone in the nation, he wishes that the economic downturn hadn’t happened. Ferdelman said many of his goals got sidetracked and a reduction of officers that is being reduced to 105 as part of an agreement with the police union.

In his conference room, there are 21 projects that are on hold due to budget constraints. “A lot of it is technology,” Ferdelman said. “I hope we can hang on.”

“We provide a service,” he said. “It’s a monopoly but people turn to us in time of fear and in times of need. It’s our duty to provide our citizens with protection and stand up to the bad guys.”

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