From left, Sgt. Travis LaBar, Patrolman Aaron Sharlow and Chief James Joyce pose at the Saranac Lake police station in September 2020. (Enterprise photo — Amy Scattergood)

SARANAC LAKE — Saranac Lake Police Chief James Joyce is leaving his role as head of the department to resume being a sergeant, and the village is accepting applications for a new chief.

Joyce said he is stepping back so he’ll have time to deal with a family emergency. Village Manager John Sweeney said Joyce requested his transfer around two weeks ago.

Sgt. Leigh Wenske is the acting chief until a successor is hired.

The village is advertising for the position and accepting applications.

“I think James Joyce did a great job, and I think he’s a tremendous person,” village Mayor Clyde Rabideau said.

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A busy year

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Joyce, 44, grew up in Saranac Lake and joined the SLPD in 2006.

He became the department’s chief in March 2020 after the retirement of former Chief Chuck Potthast.

Though his time as the the head of the department was short, Joyce said it was “incredibly eventful.” He kept a personal journal of his days.

In the weeks immediately after Joyce’s promotion to chief, COVID-19 entered the Tri-Lakes.

“Then police reform got underway after the murder of George Floyd,” Joyce said.

Joyce and the village board issued a joint statement denouncing the killing of Floyd in June, 17 days after his death in late May.

“George Floyd’s death is an example of police brutality in the United States,” the statement said.

Joyce played an active role in the village’s weekly police review and reform meetings after Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued in an executive order requiring every local government with a police department to look at its police policy. These meetings started in August 2020 and ended when the village ratified its plan in March.

“I don’t want to pat us on the back in comparison to other places,” Joyce said, “but we put a lot of time into it.”

He’s proud of the work they did and called the Counselor and Law Enforcement Partnership the committee created its “crowning achievement.” This program would embed a therapist in the SLPD to assist on mental health and addiction calls.

He said his officers have been “enthusiastic” about CALEP and the additional training the department committed to doing.

Joyce said every other profession believes in professional development, and he believes the police should, too.

He said he told his officers that police reforms are not a comment on their work, individually.

“When you have good people, they’re going to recognize that the fact that we’re doing police reform is not a comment on something they did, specifically. It’s an opportunity for us to take a look at our profession and develop it further,” he said. “Our department is not in the news a lot for bad stuff. That is a statement about the men and women who work there.”

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Wenske

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Wenske said Joyce returning to a sergeant and his subsequent filling of the chief’s role happened suddenly, but he was ready to take it on.

“James left us in a very good position,” Wenske said.

He was grateful Joyce finished the work on the police reform executive order.

Still, Wenske said it’s been “overwhelming” to take on the position. There’s a lot in the chief role that sergeants and patrolling officers do not realize.

Wenske said he’s spent over two decades in police departments, largely here in Saranac Lake, so he’s adapting quickly.

Joyce said Wenske will do a “great job” as interim chief and he said they’re in frequent contact.

Rabideau said he’s thankful for Wenske taking the position.

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Hiring

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Sweeney said he’d like to hire a new chief “sooner (rather) than later.”

There’s a sort of deadline set later in the summer because Wenske said he’ll retire on Aug. 31 after 24 years in law enforcement.

Hiring right now will be challenging, Sweeney said, because there’s no active Franklin County civil service list. The village is required to hire from this list. People get on the list by taking the county civil service exam. From there, they can be hired by towns and villages. Sweeney said there’s no one currently on that list, so anyone who wants to apply for the SLPD chief position will need to pass that exam and be in the top three finalists to be hired.

Saranac Lake cannot hire from the Essex County civil service list, even though almost half of the village is in that county.

Asked what kind of person he’d like as chief, Rabideau said he wouldn’t want to change how things are now.

“It’d be nice to have another James Joyce back in the position,” he said. “He had a steady demeanor … and he was a great listener.”

Rabideau said continuing work on the programs, committees and policies stemming from the police review and reform project “comes with the job now.”

Wenske said whomever the department hires should be an active law enforcement member with “good character.”

Sweeney said he’d like to hire someone with their “finger on the pulse” of the area and adaptable to policing in Saranac Lake.

Joyce said he hopes the village hires someone who can carry on the spirit of the reforms the department has committed to. He said the department needs someone with experience, a level head and connection to the area. He said the hopes this person cares about Saranac Lake and will see the reforms he worked on carried out.

Asked what will happen if September rolls around and the village doesn’t have a new chief, Sweeney laughed.

“We’ll move forward with the staff we have,” Sweeney said.