Montpelier's new Police Chief, Eric Nordenson. Photo courtesy of the Montpelier Police Department.
The Montpelier City Council named a new police chief Dec. 14. Eric Nordenson, who is currently the deputy chief, will replace Chief Brian Peete. Peete is moving to Kansas to head a large police department.
Nordenson has been with the Montpelier Police Department for 25 years; still, City Manager Bill Fraser said three years ago when the position opened up, Nordenson wasn’t interested in applying for the chief job. Nordenson believed then that while he had the skills for the operations side, the department needed an outside set of eyes and possibly other ways of policing.
“What I learned from Chief Peete is that we were doing great things already, and he worked tirelessly to make things better and somewhat more modern and transparent,” Nodenson said, adding that he feels ready for the challenge of addressing the “political side” of policing and ready to meet the standards and needs of the Montpelier community.
Priorities for Nordenson, he said, include the return to full staffing in the department, staff training, collaboration with the Barre Police Department and Capitol Fire Mutual Aid on radio infrastructure projects, and building a relationship with Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools, including revisiting the school resource officer position. He plans to be available to the public through meetings, community events, walking a beat, and conducting speed enforcement.
Nordenson’s college soccer teammate, George Cook, convinced him to apply for a law enforcement job in Montpelier, he said. Nordenson started as a part-time “special” police officer in April 1997 and became full time in November that year. He worked as a patrol officer from 1997 to 2004, before moving up the ranks to become a corporal, which is a future leadership position under the sergeant. Nordenson was promoted to sergeant in 2007. In this role he led shifts, trained and mentored newer officers, and assumed administrative responsibilities. Nordenson served under former chiefs Doug Hoyt and Tony Facos. In 2020 with Chief Peete’s arrival, the position of deputy chief (formerly captain) opened, and Nordenson assumed that position. He enjoyed the day-to-day operations of the department, but his fellow officers, dispatchers, parking enforcement officers, and administrative staff all supported him to become chief.
Last night Nordenson gave his first presentation to the city council of the Montpelier Police Department FY2024 budget proposal.
Nordenson and his wife Jen have two grown children, JT and Emily. He is a volunteer assistant soccer coach at Tufts University, and is a supporter of Arsenal in the English Premier League. He is rooting for Argentina in the World Cup and hopes that it is Messi’s time.
