A Celebratory Walkout for Chief Kilfoil

Celebrating his 39 years of service to the Port Washington Police District, well-wishers honored Police Chief William J. Kilfoil Monday on his last day of duty.  

Attending the ceremony were members of the Port Washington Police District and its commissioners, as well as officials from other villages and Nassau County.

Calling him an “icon” in the law enforcement community, James Salerno, who will begin serving as acting chief, noted that Kilfoil is the ninth police chief in the district, and the longest-serving chief in the district’s history.

Chief Kilfoil is the past president of both the Nassau County Municipal Police Chiefs Association and the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police. He also served on three F.B.I. Criminal Justice Information Service Committees from 2006-2012.

“In working close with him the last 13 years, I learned the following: it’s nice to be important, but it more important to be nice – that’s Chief Bill Kilfoil,” Salerno said.  

At 1 p.m. sharp, Chief Kilfoil exited police headquarters, where those in attendance saluted before he was blessed by Monsignor Dan Picciano of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Lake Ronkonkoma. Afterward, Chief Kilfoil and his wife Janet were driven away in a Port Washington Police SUV, heading down Port Washington Blvd., over which an American flag draped prominently in his honor.