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Colleen Smullen was hired as a West Haven Police Officer on
June 21, 1985. Deputy Chief Smullen began her career serving in the Patrol
Division. In 1987 she was assigned to the Statewide Narcotics Task Force, a
prestigious and coveted assignment.
 The unit is made up of State and Local law
enforcement professionals working together to combat narcotics distribution in
Connecticut. On April 19, 1989 Officer Smullen received the Medal of Honor (the
highest commendation awarded by this Department) for her bravery in risking her
own life engaged in combat with an armed and dangerous person.
On August 19, 1988 Deputy Chief Smullen was searching for
an armed gunman who had shot State Trooper John Kucan and West Haven Police
Detective Keith Sweeney in the Meloy Road area. The suspect seeing Officer Smullen and another
officer fired his weapon at them. Their quick action in returning gunfire
resulted in the suspect being wounded, thereby ending a very dangerous life
threatening situation. In 1991, Officer Smullen was assigned as an investigator to the
Detective Division. On September 10, 1993 she was promoted to Sergeant and
assigned to the Patrol Division as a supervisor. In 1993, Sergeant Smullen was
assigned as the supervisor to the Training Division where she was responsible
for the in-service training of all sworn and civilian personnel and recruitment
of new police officers.
On October 10, 1997, Sergeant Smullen was promoted to
Lieutenant. She served as a Patrol Shift Commander and the Department’s
Administrative Lieutenant. As Administrative Lieutenant she was responsible for
the Department’s grant writing and instrumental in the Department receiving
$210,000 in State and Federal grants. She is responsible for spearheading the
Department’s Professional Accreditation Program and is a certified assessor for
the State of Connecticut Accreditation Program.
Lt. Smullen attended the prestigious FBI National Academy
in Quantico, Va. from April 1 – June 8, 2001. She is a graduate of the 205th
session. On July 26, 2002, Lt. Smullen was promoted to the rank of Captain. She
was assigned to the Administrative Services Division once again overseeing the
Department’s training and recruitment programs. As Captain she wrote the grant
in which the Department was awarded $100,000 from the Federal Homeland Security
office to use for overtime in protecting the City’s infrastructure from attack.
We were 1 of only 2 police departments in the State that received this grant.
Captain Smullen supervised the Uniformed Services Division, the Department’s
largest Division made up of over 80 employees.
Deputy Chief Smullen has received the West Haven Police
Department’s Medal of Honor, The Connecticut State Police Medal of Bravery and
the International Narcotic Officers Medal of Valor. She was named Woman Police
officer of the Year for the State of Connecticut in and has received 6 Letters
of Commendation and 2 Unit Citations. Deputy Chief Smullen is an active and
highly respected member of the West Haven community. She is professional,
ethical, empathetic, and unwavering.
Deputy Chief Smullen is a 20 year veteran of the
Department. Deputy Chief Smullen has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from
Southern Connecticut State University, a Master's of Science Degree in Education
and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, both from the University of New
Haven.
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