RAVENA-COEYMANS — Today we continue the countdown of the top 5 local stories of 2022.
The Ravena News-Herald looked at the top stories of the year, those that drew the highest numbers of readers to our website and Facebook page, or that had the greatest impact on the community and its residents.
Here is Number 4, a story that was published in February and drew among the highest number of views in 2022.
NUMBER 4: Police chief resigns effective immediately
COEYMANS — Police Chief Douglas Keyer resigned from the Coeymans Police Department’s top spot Friday, effective immediately.
Keyer could not immediately be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
Coeymans Town Supervisor George McHugh said the resignation was abrupt but he was not surprised the chief was stepping down because there were plans for Keyer to resign by July.
“He was only on on a waiver,” McHugh said. “He was retired from the state troopers, so we had to get a waiver from his retirement for him to work and earn more than $35,000. That was coming up in July. I also think his vision of the Coeymans Police Department and the board’s vision of the Coeymans Police Department were not quite aligned.”
McHugh would not elaborate further on what those differences were.
“You’d have to ask him about that,” McHugh said.
The town supervisor said he was not aware of a conflict between the town board and the police chief.
The town will next look to hire a replacement. In the interim, Sgt. Daniel Braden, who works part-time for the department 30 hours a week, is currently at the top of the department’s chain of command, McHugh said.
“The town board manages the police department, but if you look at the police chain of command, he would be the highest-ranking police officer, but at the end of the day, the responsibility for the police department falls on the town board,” McHugh said.
