Old Orchard Beach Police Chief Retiring After Nearly Five Decades of Service

OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Town Manager Diana Asanza announces that Police Chief Dana Kelley will retire from the Old Orchard Beach Police Department after almost 50 years of service.

Chief Kelley will retire this month, following a 49-year career spent entirely with his hometown department, where he started his career in June of 1972 as a part-time officer. Upon Kelley’s retirement, Capt. Elise Chard will be appointed Interim Chief.

“Chief Kelley has dedicated himself to serving his community, and Old Orchard Beach is better for it,” Asanza said. “I want to thank him for his lifetime of service, which he’s utilized to make a tangible positive impact on the department and position it for continued success in the future.” 

Chief Kelley remained in his part-time role until April of 1973, when he became a full-time member of the department. He served in that role until his first promotion, to corporal, in 1976 and subsequently to sergeant in 1977 and captain in 1987. He also served as a detective from 1978-80. He was named acting chief in 1989, and has served in his current role as full-time chief since 1992. 

In that time, Chief Kelley worked to develop and grow the department’s reserve program through expanded training that sets Old Orchard Beach’s reserve unit apart from many of its peers. Under Chief Kelley’s oversight, including hands-on work from Capt. Chard, the reserve unit has undertaken an innovative and thorough training process that opens a pathway to professional policing for reserve officers. 

Additionally, Chief Kelley has overseen the development of the Community Watch Council, which promotes crime prevention at the neighborhood level, as well as the Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) program. VIPS members are instrumental in supporting the department’s work by supporting the traffic division, special events and drug takeback, among other activities.

A graduate of the 172nd session of the elite FBI National Academy program, Chief Kelley has done extensive work to modernize the Old Orchard Beach Police Department. The department’s new facility was constructed in 2010 under his watch, and the town’s new mobile parking payment program was developed and implemented at his direction.

“Old Orchard Beach’s municipal government has always been supportive of public safety, and Town councils have been generous over the years in providing us with the resources we’ve needed to provide a high level of service to the community. I want to thank Town Manager Asanza and the current Town Council for all of their advice and support of not just me but of the entire Police Department and Public Safety in general,” Chief Kelley said. “I also want to thank all of the extraordinarily capable police officers I’ve had the privilege of serving alongside, as well as the countless residents who have shown their support of the department as a whole throughout my time here — and especially during the height of the pandemic.”

Upon his retirement, Chief Kelley will relocate to Florida. 

Capt. Chard joined the Old Orchard Beach Police Department 29 years ago, and has lived in town for the last 28 of those years. She has risen through the ranks after joining as an officer, earning a promotion to detective in 1994, corporal in 1996, sergeant in 2000 and captain in 2017. She will be the first woman to lead the agency in its history. She previously worked at the Lisbon Police Department and holds the distinction of serving as the first female drug agent in the history of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

She has done hands-on work with the department’s reserve unit, which expands significantly during the busy summer months, conducting training and overseeing its members’ work.

“I’ve very much enjoyed working with Chief Kelley to develop many of our department’s programs and initiatives,” Capt. Chard said. “I’m also tremendously thankful to Chief Kelley for his thoughtful mentorship, to which I owe much of the success I’ve had in my career in Old Orchard Beach. His continued guidance in supporting me as I step forward to lead the department on an interim basis has been invaluable, and I believe has prepared me for the challenge.”  

Capt. Chard will serve as interim chief through the summer, after which the town plans to begin the search for a full-time replacement.