By Amy Batista, Special Writer
HIGHTSTOWN — David Chenoweth, 48, recently retired after 18 years as a patrolman with the department to spend time with his family.
He lives in Middletown.
”My farewell to the residents of Hightstown,” Mr. Chenoweth posted on his Facebook page Dec. 9, the day of his retirement. “The time has come. Today at 5:30 p.m., I will be hanging up my gun and badge. It has been an honor to serve you all. I will deeply miss everyone of you.”
Mr. Chenoweth started his career with the Allentown Police Department, then joined the Hightstown Police Department.
Being a cop was something Mr. Chenoweth always had wanted to do. He comes from a family of cops.
”My father was a cop,” Mr. Chenoweth said. “I was a police cadet — you know, the Explorer Program; Middletown had it.”
According to Mr. Chenoweth, his brothers also are police officers.
Mr. Chenoweth sat at his table and recalled to the Herald all the community policing events he has participated in the years, including National Night Out.
Community policing was his favorite thing, he said.
”That was my biggest thing here; I loved to do (it),” he said.
And “National Night Out, I got to keep that going because I started that up,” Patrolman Chenoweth said.
Also, he said the closing of the Minute Maid plant was a time that stuck out in his career.
He recalled that he was sent over in plain clothes that day to sit in the human resources office as the plant informed their employees it was closing down. He was briefed when he got to the plant.
Mr. Chenoweth called his chief and told him the plant was closing that day. The plant was surrounded with police cars in the parking lot from the surrounding communities, including Cranbury and the state police.
”That was the hardest thing for me to do for me,” Mr. Chenoweth said. “I had to sit there and to listen to everybody cry.”
He recalled, “It went relatively smooth, but there were a lot of people yelling and screaming stuff inside.”
Mr. Chenoweth said, “It broke my heart listening to people. One guy was in his mid-40s . . . was like ‘What am I going to do? My wife just had a baby.’”
Another incident that stands out in his career, he said, was his part in stopping a lingerie sting of $36,000.
”I had $36,000 worth of stolen clothes,” Mr. Chenoweth said. “I pulled these guys over on Stockton Street, and they had the army duffel bags in the back. One of them had lingerie with the security tag hanging out of it.”
According to Mr. Chenoweth, the suspects were taking the merchandise to New York when he pulled them over.
Besides the important cases, Mr. Chenoweth said he will miss the people of Hightstown.
”A lot of nice people here,” he said. “It’s like family.”
He, too, was affected by Superstorm Sandy.
He said it was a surprise that, instead of him helping people, he was on the receiving end.
”It’s amazing that I became the victim of the hurricane and how many people came forward and gave me a lot of stuff like a bed, blankets, stuff for my daughter,” he said.
Mr. Chenoweth’s plans for retirement include being a “full-time dad” to his daughter, Danielle, who is 9 years old.
”I’m leaving my options open,” Mr. Chenoweth said. “My wife is traveling international (as a flight attendant), and we are gonna go on a couple trips. It’s gonna be good. We are going to go on trips with her. It’s gonna be cool.”
His coworkers reflected on what it was like working with him.
”While I have only known him since February, I look forward to every day working with him,” Police Director James LeTellier said. “What a positive attitude and sense of humor he has. Hightstown will surely miss him.”
”Patrolman Chenoweth was and will always be a stand-up cop,” said Patrolwoman Janine Krupa, president of the Hightstown PBA Local 283, in an email Dec. 6.
”Patrolman Chenoweth would do anything for us and the residents of Hightstown,” Patrolwoman Krupa said. “Even though he didn’t live in this town, this was his home. Patrolman Chenoweth was the ‘go to guy.’ Anything you needed from (him) all you had to do was ask.”
She said Mr. Chenoweth donated his time to the Hightstown PBA for its Polar Bear Plunge for approximately 10 years, ran National Night Out for about six years and helped out with the Toys for Tots campaign.
Patrolwoman Krupa has known Mr. Chenoweth for six years and was his partner for 18 months.
”I will miss Patrolman Chenoweth’s positive upbeat attitude and his ‘Hey buddy’ to everyone he saw and met,” she said. “I will especially miss that when I got hired, he always referred to me as his ‘little sister.’ . . . I am pleased to have had a chance to know him and call him one of my brothers.”
Detective Benjamin Miller compared him to being the “poster child of community relations.”
”Patrolman Chenoweth’s rapport with residents and subjects on both sides of the law has always been compassionate, professional and guiding in nature,” Detective Miller told the Herald on Dec. 7. “Patrolman Chenoweth is always jovial and brings to the job a great sense of humor and calmness.”
He added, “In many cases, upon people being separated from the department, clichés about ‘the place never being the same’ are echoed. In this case, in the absence of Patrolman Chenoweth, this is sadly true. The Hightstown Borough Police Department will definitely never be the same without Patrolman Chenoweth’s sense of humor, singing and constant cheer being spread.”
Patrolman Frank Marchione said on Dec. 7, “Dave is a very happy go lucky person and definitely loved coming to work and putting on his uniform. Dave loved interacting with the public, and he was never shy about teasing people and joking around with complete strangers and our local community.”
Sgt. Glen Runge has known Patrolman Chenoweth nearly 19 years as “a partner, police brother, neighbor, but mostly friend.”
”He and I were hired at the same time and were sworn in only two weeks apart,” said Sgt. Runge said on Dec. 10. “Now as fate would have it, we’re retiring only two months apart. I retire effective March 1, 2013. Dave and I both grew up in subsections of Middletown, and we’re both still there till this day.”
He added, “We have served as partners on the same squad, and when I was promoted to sergeant, I had the good fortune of being Dave’s direct supervisor for many years. Every supervisor should be so lucky as to have an officer like Dave to supervise. Dave has always been and continues to be a very professional, friendly, jovial, positive, upbeat individual who always has a smile on his face and a song on his lips.”
Mr. Chenoweth, now a retiree, concluded, “It was an honor to serve the people of Hightstown. I loved it here. I had a wonderful time being a cop here. I can’t complain.”

