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Bloomer, a lifelong Hastings resident who has been chief for five years, served in the department for three decades.
"One of the primary roles of local government is providing police protection to the community," Swiderski said in a letter to the community. "Our small and quite competent department of 21 is headed by Chief Bloomer, a most excellent man who has served the village in the Police Department for 30 years. He's led the department with a firm hand and with great grace and intelligence and he will be missed."
Swiderski said there were three qualified applicants for chief, all sergeants on the police force, and Visalli was offered the position after civil service testing and review by the Village Board of Trustees, village manager and Police Commission and a group of resident volunteers.
Visalli is a 15-year veteran of the force and a resident of Hastings who lives on Maple Avenue.
"Sergeant Visalli brings a dedication, thoughtfulness and skill to the job that impressed the selecting committee," Swiderski said. "We look forward to working with him and seeing him grow into the challenges of the position. We are proud of the level of service, professionalism, training and spirit of our police force. We believe that Sergeant Visalli will continue that tradition and seek to maintain the high standards and further extend the services we offer."
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