NEWINGTON - When residents weighed in on the hiring process for a new police chief, they said that they wanted a candidate that would be woven into the fabric of the community.

       Newly-selected Newington Police Chief Stephen Clark will be living in Newington, as requested, but it won’t be a change of scenery for him. He grew up in town and was even an officer with the department before taking a job in Vernon, according to The Hartford Courant.

       He has also continued to live in town.

       â€�"I’m excited,” Clark said during a phone conversation. â€�"I’m looking forward to coming back and finish where I started.”

       His hiring marks the end of a search that began with former Chief Richard Mulhall’s retirement at the end of December.

       Mulhall has headed the department since he came to Newington--the last stop of his 43-year law enforcement career--in 2002. His retirement marked the first time in 12 years, and only the fourth time in 35 years, that the town has had to look for a new police chief.

       Clark says that when he left, he did not envision a future as a police chief, but encouragement from residents after Mulhall’s retirement moved him in that direction.

       Some residents requested that Town Manager John Salomone consider candidates from outside the community, although those who turned out for public hearings with the search firm Badge Quest said that they expected whoever was hired to live in the community.

       Throughout the process, Salomone said that he was reviewing applicants both internally and from outside Newington.

       Clark is a little bit of both.

       A graduate of Newington High School, Clark took his policing career to Vernon eight years ago, eventually rising to the rank of captain, according to The Courant.

       â€�"They’ve all been great,” Clark said of his colleagues in Vernon. â€�"And I’ve enjoyed it, but I miss having that connection to the community where you grow up in a town and your family has lived there for so many generations. It’s just a different feeling.”

       While in Vernon, Clark has also served on the Capitol Region Emergency Services team and commanded the regional SWAT team.

       â€�"It’s given me a unique experience,” he said. â€�"I also worked with a lot of different departments. I don’t think I would have had the professional growth I had coming here [without going to Vernon].”

       Clark said that the first 30 days on the job will be an â€�"assessment period,” during which he hopes to get a feel for the department and community’s needs. He says that he hopes to begin holding community meetings by September.

       Mulhall started his career as a police dispatcher and cadet in Farmington in 1971. He moved onto Avon in 1972 before being appointed Captain of the Bloomington Police Department in 1986. Nine years later, he became Chief there. He also headed the Governor’s 9-1-1 Emergency Commission from 2008-11.

       Lieutenant Nicolas Miano has been serving as the department’s interim chief since Dec. 27, when Mulhall officially retired.