Fairport has selected Andrew Whitaker, a captain in the Irondequoit Police Department, as its new police chief and made him an official offer, village officials said. The appointment is not final until New York State approves a waiver.
Village administrator Bryan White said, “We’ve made an offer. We’re really excited to have him come on board,” and said the hiring effort had been underway for months before a recorded bar fight in Fairport was posted online two weeks earlier. He added, “No, we’ve been working on hiring a police chief for months. It didn’t change the pace or impact that whatsoever,” pushing back on any suggestion the viral incident affected the timing.
The county website lists the chief of police job as starting May 27, with a permanent salary of $135,000. Fairport Police has 10 full-time officers, and two other positions are open besides the chief, underscoring the strain on a department that serves one of the county’s biggest and most popular bar scenes.
The bar fight that spread online put Fairport’s nightlife under a sharper spotlight, and one man was charged with assault after the incident. But the chief hire was already in motion, tied to a state waiver used by small departments to bring in experienced officers as chiefs. That waiver is now the final step before Whitaker can officially take the job.
Scott Peters, chief of the Irondequoit Police Department, said Whitaker was unavailable to talk to News10NBC today. For Fairport, the question is no longer whether the village found its choice, but whether Albany will clear the way for him to start on May 27.
