(11/10) Carroll Valley Borough Police Chief Richard Hileman retired on November 1st after more then 30 years of service.
Hileman graduated valedictorian at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Municipal Police Academy about a week before being sworn into the borough "as a kid" in 1992. "My whole police life has been here at Carroll Valley," he said.
At his retirement ceremony, Hileman reflected on three decades of law enforcement service and noted the many changes that have occurred.
Hileman recounted that in his early days of the police department he had to supply his own gun and had a faulty portable radio. Hileman said he was always on the lookout for technology to streamline efficiency and grant opportunities to improve operations without additional costs.
Through his ever-seeking eye to grant funding, in 2017 Hileman jumped on a federal grant totaling nearly $200,000 to equip every law enforcement agency in Adams County with new in-car computers and programs to allow document scanning and electronic filing. Before that, most agencies utilized handwritten citations and had to physically drive copies to the court to be manually entered into the system database, Hileman said.
"The new system really saved a lot of time for both the police departments and the courts, while improving accuracy. It also helped that I no longer received calls when the court couldn’t read my handwriting," he said.
Hileman always enjoyed working with school districts, noting one instance that provided an opportunity for community service to bring a new gym floor to the Fairfield Area School District. In the mid-1990’s Hileman recalled "one of those crazy incidents" in which while in the middle of arresting an intoxicated driver, another inebriated driver appeared. While attempting to apprehend this second vehicle, Hileman was struck by the fleeing vehicle and sent into the intersection. The driver was eventually brought into custody and as the perpetrator owned a contracting company and was unable to afford a felony conviction, a deal was made out for community service to install a new gym floor, he said.
"As the greatest injury that night was to my pride, it seemed a good deal to benefit our community in which his crimes were committed and save the taxpayers some expense," Hileman said.
"I was always quite proud when we could break a case or find the evidence to help another agency solve their case. Also, it was good to tell a victim that the perpetrator would face justice," he said.
Hileman was immensely pleased to see Corporal Clifford Weikert named his successor as Police Chief. Weikert has served Carroll Valley’s Police Department for more than 20 years and displays the same dedication to serving the residents, according to Hileman.
"He is a talented investigator and has been such a valuable resource for me over those years and will do well. It is my greatest wish that they look on him one day and say, ‘He is so much better than the last guy,’" Hileman said.
With his retirement, Hileman now looks forward to traveling, scuba diving, but will always be on the lookout for ways to contribute to the community.
