There’s a new chief in town
November 13, 2024 at 11:31 p.m.
The walls of the chief’s office at the Rye Brook Police Department looked strikingly white and bare—a few papers sparsely pinned to a bulletin board, picture hangers jutting out from the walls, exposed with no frames to support.
Just a few hours into his new position, Eric Dengler was “slowly” getting used to his new moniker: “Chief.”
“I’ve been here for 26 years and nine days,” Dengler said during an interview in his new office on Wednesday, Nov. 13. “I just look forward to moving us to a good spot in the future and (ensuring) everyone is treated properly and appropriately while we’re being the professional department we’ve been known to be.”
The night before, at the Rye Brook Board of Trustees meeting, the 56-year-old Mount Pleasant resident was officially sworn in as the new chief of police. He was hired at a salary of $203,000 to oversee the department and its 28 officers (though currently only 27 are on duty; they look to make a new hire soon).
Dengler takes the place of longtime Police Chief Greg Austin. Though he will remain on the payroll for the next few months to assist the Village during a period of transition, he retired at the same time. With him will go a plethora of institutional knowledge—he’s been with the Rye Brook police for 36 years, serving the last 18 as chief.
“I’ve been doing this a long time. I wanted to explore other things in my life,” Austin said, explaining it was the right time to step down. “I’m recently a grandfather, and I have another on the way in February. I want to spend time with them as much as we can. My wife and I are excited about that.”
He’s never known the feeling of waking up in the morning and not needing to go to work, and at 61 years old, he looks forward to experiencing that.
Though Austin could only be reached for a brief, initial conversation about his retirement, he emphasized his sincere pride in watching the Rye Brook Police Department progress toward a manner of professionalism over the last three decades.
The sense of fulfillment goes beyond his own work. “The officers’ hard work and dedication consistently reflected well on all of us,” he said, “enhancing not only my reputation, but the department as a whole.”
Rye Brook Mayor Jason Klein (right) swears Eric Dengler in as the new police chief overseeing the Village’s law enforcement at the Nov. 12 Board of Trustees meeting.By Richard Abel
Logistically, he largely feels achieved in getting the force accredited. “That was something the Village wanted to do since I was hired as a police officer. Other chiefs attempted it, but it was never accomplished,” he said. “It was one of my first goals, and I’m very proud that we’ve been accredited for almost 10 years now.”
“Eric is going to be great,” he continued about his successor. “I’ve been showing him things about the job…and he’s excited. I’m sure he has a lot of ideas and things he wants to do, and I’m excited to see what changes he’ll make in the police department.”
In light of Austin’s retirement, Dengler was approached by Village Administrator Christopher Bradbury about the chief’s position in August. When asked to step into the role, he said he was surprised, but it was an offer he couldn’t help but consider.
The thought of heading the department had crossed his mind before.
“I’ve been interested, but I really didn’t think I would get to this level,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d be working as long as I have been, I figured I’d be retired by now. But I enjoy coming to work. It’s not a task or a headache. You do different things every day, you meet different people. Sometimes it’s the worst day of their life, but you’re just doing what you always do: try to help.”
He took the position this week technically on a contingent basis—in March, he’ll need to take and pass the chief’s exam.
When Dengler was hired in 1998, he was transferring from the New York City Police Department. Initially, his goal was simple: to find a better quality of life, away from a dangerous job that was overwhelmed by heightened crime rates. But in Rye Brook, he found more than comfort—the work brought him joy. He liked the environment, he liked the Village, he liked the focus on community policing.
That’s why he never left.
In April 2010, Dengler took his first step up the ladder when he became the department’s dedicated youth officer, a job that changed his title to detective.
“I didn’t know a tremendous amount about it at the time, but ended up really liking it,” he said. For 11 years, that involved his running the DARE program at Blind Brook Middle School. “It’s nice. I’ll see kids now, and they’ll be like: ‘You were my DARE officer!’ And it’s like, they’re so big now. You don’t realize it at the time, when you’re becoming a role model for them.”
The prevalence of a healthy DARE program in the Blind Brook School District speaks to the same values the Village holds in its community policing model, he said. They go hand in hand, because it’s largely about developing relationships between residents and the police service. And he’s always liked being a branch of that communion.
Dengler embraced his time as a youth officer—he spent it looking to advance in the field beyond his place in Rye Brook and improve himself as a law enforcement official. Over those years, he joined the Westchester County Youth Officers and the State of New York Police Juvenile Officers associations, and he worked his way through those ranks as well. At different points, he served as president of both organizations.
He described his involvement in the area associations as a career highlight.
As a youth officer, Dengler’s day-to-day attire was casual. But in March 2021, he went back in uniform as he took a promotion to sergeant, overseeing a squad of three officers. Three years later, in June of this year, he returned to the detective branch of the department by becoming a detective sergeant—though it would ultimately only be a position he held for a few months.
Dengler said he’s feels good about becoming the new face of the department as police chief.
He looks forward to “keeping things moving forward in the policing era,” he said. “Everyone is trying to hold themselves to a higher standard. The department has been accredited for 10-plus years now, which New York State sets standards on, and we’d like to continue going with those standards and attain newer, higher ones if we can.”
To the chief position, Dengler brings his own perception of historical knowledge about Rye Brook and the police department to the table. That, he said, will be instrumental in the role.
He knows the community. Though the department hasn’t grown much, he said, the Village has. When he was first hired, High Point Hospital was still standing. Since then, in the late-90s, it was demolished to make way for the BelleFair residential community.
“In the department, I’ve seen tons of different policies and changes implemented over the years,” he said. “I’ve seen more homes and developments come up, I’ve seen police reform and a new focus on mental health. There’s been a lot.”
The most valuable information he has, however, is what he’s learned from others.
“I’ve had a lot of fellow officers that I’ve worked with who have taught me a lot, at all different ranks,” he said. “I’ll carry that advice. You try to remember the good and the bad of everything, and you learn from it.”
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