Crime & Safety

Ed Roessler Hired as Fairfax County Police Chief

Roessler, a 24-year vet, had been serving as acting police chief for the Fairfax County Police Department since March 2013.

 


By William Callahan

Fairfax County supervisors appointed Lt. Col. Edwin Roessler as the county’s new fulltime chief of police Tuesday morning.

Roessler had been serving as acting Fairfax County police chief since March 23. The search for a new full time chief of the Fairfax County Police Department began in October 2012, when former chief David Rohrer was promoted to deputy county executive of public safety.

Supervisor Penny Gross (D-Mason), head of the Board’s personnel committee, said officials had interviewed a number of candidates but were confident Roessler was right for the job. 

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“I have known Ed Roessler since he was an assistant commander at the Mason Station, golly, more than a decade ago,” Gross said. “I think he will continue to serve Fairfax County and reach that bar that former chief David Rohrer set for the police department.”

Roessler has served more than 24 years in the Fairfax County Police Department. He lives in Centreville with his family.

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After the appointment, Roessler told reporters he was honored and humbled to get the job.

“We have a great department,” he said. “This is the Cadillac of police agencies throughout the nation.”

He said he planned to focus on cracking down on crime, including domestic violence, making the department more diverse and preparing it for the future.

“We’ll continue to partner with a multitude of county agencies to combat domestic violence,” he said.

One of the first thing Roessler intends to do is establish a Chief’s Council on diversity. The group would ideally be chaired by a community leader who could help Roessler and the police department recruit and engage with the county’s diverse population.

“Right now, if we look at [the department’s] diversity and compare that to the community, we have significant gaps,” Roessler said. “We have to market ourselves better.”

The department will also have to keep up with urbanization in the county when the Silver Line opens next year and with the constant development in Tysons, he said.

“The challenge is immediate,” he said.

There are plans for a new police station in Tysons about 10 years down the road, and the Fiscal Year 2014 budget established new police positions to beef up enforcement when the Silver Line is finally operational.

Roessler began his career in the New York City Department of Investigation before moving to Fairfax County, where he served as deputy chief of patrol from 2010 to March 2013.

He has also held senior command positions in the Internal Affairs Bureau, as director of the Criminal Justice Academy and as manager of the department’s budget.

Roessler, a graduate of Arizona State University, also has a graduate degree from the George Washington University. He’ll have an annual salary of $188,410.

 


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