Chief Toussaint Summers to Leave Herndon Police Department

Herndon Police Department’s Chief Toussaint E. Summers Jr., notified Town Manager Art Anselene that he will retire from the town’s police force on Nov. 1, 2011.

Summers has served as the chief of Herndon’s police since 1999. He will be relocating to New Bern, N.C., where he has accepted the community’s top law enforcement position, according to a press release sent out by the Town of Herndon on Tuesday afternoon.

“Toussaint has provided 12 years of principled, highly effective leadership to the Herndon Police Department, significantly benefitting the town and its citizens,” Anselene said. “It is with heartfelt gratitude for his service that we wish him all the best as in his new position.”

The town listed highlights of Summers’ time with the Herndon Police Department, including his role as chair of the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force, a regional program that has helped curb gang activity in Northern Virginia. He has also managed the town’s participation in the federal 287(g) program. The town was one of the first communities to use the program.

Summers’ also led the police department in receiving national and state certifications and recognition as a Certified Crime Prevention Community. He has also been recognized with the International Chief of Police Community Policing Award, among other honors.

“It is with mixed emotions that I leave Herndon and prepare for my new responsibilities as New Bern’s Chief of Police,” Summers said. “The men and women of the Herndon Police Department are second to none in their commitment to public safety and community policing. It has been my privilege and honor to serve with them.”

Anselene will appoint an acting Chief of Police and then the town will begin its search for Summers’ replacement. For more information, visit Herndon’s website at www.herndon-va.gov.