PITTSFIELD — Police Chief Thomas Dawley will retire next month, ending a roughly 2 1/2-year run as the department's leader that began with his appointment as interim chief.

Dawley, 52, said he informed Mayor Peter Marchetti of his decision in April but kept the announcement quiet until recently. His last day is Jan. 9.

"I knew it was time," Dawley said in an interview in which he described the pressures of administrative work and managing roughly 120 personnel. "It's a lifestyle. You're doing it 24/7. You're always on call."

Marchetti said he opted for an internal search to fill the position. Two candidates took a Civil Service Assessment Center exam in early December, though neither the mayor nor Dawley would identify them publicly. The results are expected around the start of the new year.

"I will offer the job to the person who scores the highest," Marchetti said, adding that civil service rules allow bypassing the top scorer only with substantial justification.

Marchetti said he considered both internal and external searches before deciding to keep the process in-house. The $189,446-a-year position requires the chief to live in Pittsfield, which Marchetti suggested may have limited the external candidate pool. The next chief's appointment as department head must be approved by the City Council.

If the test results don't arrive before Dawley's departure, Marchetti said he would appoint a member of the department to serve in an interim capacity.

"I commend Chief Dawley for his service," Marchetti said.

Marchetti also said he was "hopeful that he would stay longer" when he appointed Dawley permanent chief last year, and that he "respect[s] the fact that folks retire when they can."

Asked why the retirement wasn't announced when Dawley informed him in April, Marchetti said keeping it quiet helped avoid distractions.

It also reflected Dawley's wishes.

"I just want to go quietly," he said. "I don't need pomp and circumstance. I love the job, and I love what I do. It's like a bittersweet thing. But when you know it's time, it's time."

Dawley joined the Pittsfield Police Department in 2002 as a patrol officer after working as a correctional officer, patrolman in Hinsdale and court officer. He rose through the ranks to become a detective, sergeant, lieutenant and captain before being named interim chief in July 2023 following former Police Chief Michael Wynn's retirement.

Marchetti made the appointment permanent in June 2024. Dawley said the role was a transition, particularly the administrative workload, and said he was more comfortable with investigative work.

"This is a very humbling experience, and I was honored to do it. I really was. There's a lot of positives to this position. But of course, with the positive comes negative," he said. "I love police work and investigations. I love being in the cruiser."

After Wynn approached him about the chief position, Dawley said he cited three concerns: his lack of budget experience, discomfort with public speaking and fear of disappointing the department whose members had "been my family for 24 years."

He ultimately accepted the interim role after receiving the encouragement of then-Mayor Linda Tyer, and then accepted the permanent position offered by Marchetti the next year with the goal of improving the department while preparing it for the next leader, he said.

As chief, Dawley said he believed the role would last three to five years. "There's chiefs that stay much longer. How they do it, I have no idea. They're just probably built different than I am," he said.

He described the position as more administrative mediator than police officer, juggling demands from city government, constituents and about eight unions representing roughly 120 department personnel.

He navigated the department through the loss of one of its own in October 2024 when Officer Michael Silver died unexpectedly. Dawley called it "a very dark time for our department" with lasting effects on morale, a situation that drove home the importance of providing mental health support for the officers under his command.

As Dawley looks ahead into a new chapter, he noted that former law enforcement, firefighters and first responders of all stripes tend to feel some loss of identity when they leave the workplace. He's trying to be mindful of that as he adjusts to the idea of being a civilian.

"Since '95, law enforcement is all I know," he said. "You get used to being the protector, the watcher. Then one day you're retired, it's like, all that's gone."

Dawley managed a budget of approximately $15.5 million and expanded several programs, he said, including a co-responder mental health initiative that grew to four clinicians working alongside officers.

He said the department is poised to upgrade its body-worn cameras to models with real-time language translation capabilities. The department also secured grants for additional less-lethal weapons and multiple drones used for surveillance, search and rescue operations and during search warrants.

Staffing remained a persistent challenge, Dawley said. The department is funded for 97 sworn officers but has operated in the low 90s or high 80s. Seven recruits are expected to attend the police academy in March.

Dawley said he formed an alliance with Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue and Sheriff Thomas Bowler early on, and emphasized their collaboration as a benefit to public safety.

Shugrue credited Dawley's detectives with securing homicide convictions in the last 18 months, including those that "on paper, were not wonderful cases."

"These cases needed a lot of work," Shugrue said, adding that the convictions wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of Pittsfield police working with prosecutors.

Shugrue said Dawley's constant availability was critical to their work together, saying "I can call this guy 24/7 — and believe me, I have, you know, 2 o'clock morning, 3 o'clock in the morning — and he always is there. He's been there for the city."

He said he hopes the position is filled quickly after Dawley's departure.

"I'm hoping they'll backfill it right away, because we have so much going on, and we're going to continue to do the work we're doing," Shugrue said. "I hate to be without a leader in that period of time."

Bowler, who worked with Dawley as a Pittsfield detective in the 2000s, credited Dawley's dedication as an investigator and leader within the three-way collaboration between the police department, district attorney's office and sheriff's office.

"Not only did he care about the people in his community, but he cared about his officers as well, which is truly important," he said.

Dawley, who lives in Pittsfield with his wife, said he plans to remain available to assist the new chief with the transition and hasn't ruled out returning to law enforcement in some capacity.

"Whatever the city needs and whatever this department needs, any help with the transition, I am here," he said.