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WILKES-BARRE — Former city police chief Gerard Dessoye has stepped down as executive director of campus safety and security at King’s College after nearly two years on the job.
King’s spokesman John McAndrew said Monday the school does not discuss personnel matters, but verified Dessoye recently voluntarily resigned. Dessoye could not be reached for comment.
A 1979 graduate of King’s, Dessoye, 59, returned to his alma mater to oversee a 45-member department in September 2014 after serving 33 years on the city police force. He was selected from six people who interviewed for the position. Many more applied for the job, said John Loyack, vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer at King’s said the time.
Dessoye had been police chief since 2004, having worked his way up to the top spot. He began as a patrolman in 1981 and was promoted in 1986 to detective distinguishing himself and earning medals for heroism and combat. During his career he was shot in a hotel on Kidder Street in 1991, shot and killed a man and had his leg broken in two places during a raid at a bar on South Main Street.
The private sector job offered him new challenges, Dessoye said prior to leaving the department. He said he gave then Mayor Tom Leighton, who named him chief, notice that he would only lead the department for two terms. Dessoye said he was looking for other job opportunities and wanted to move on while he was still marketable in order to provide for his family.
“Why now? Because an opportunity presented itself to me,” he said, explaining his decision.
The federal indictment of a city police officer and former officer on fraud charges related to the Wilkes-Barre City Employees Federal Credit Union played no role in his decision, Dessoye said.