Harry Rilling

Harry Rilling is the current mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut. He had previously served as Norwalk's police chief for 17 years before retiring. He is a Democrat, and was elected in 2013. Rilling defeated incumbent mayor Richard A. Moccia.^[2]

Rilling was born and raised in Norwalk, graduating from Norwalk High School in 1965. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1967, and was honorably discharged in 1971 with the rank of E-5. He joined the Norwalk Police Department in 1971 and rose to the rank of Chief in 1995, a position he held until his retirement in 2012. He served on the Norwalk Zoning Commission from 2012 until his election as Mayor in 2013. From 1996 to 2004, Rilling was an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice at Norwalk Community College.

Rilling has a BS in Criminal Justice, Summa Cum Laude, from Iona College, and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of New Haven. He is a graduate of the FBI Executive Development Course.

Rilling was an on-site assessor and team leader with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA); he is a past Chairman of the Mid-Fairfield Substance Abuse Coalition (MFSAC); past President of both the Fairfield County Chiefs of Police Association (FCCP) and the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association (CPCA); he is a Life member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP); and he is a Board member of the National Committee on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (a committee of the Drug Enforcement Administration). Rilling served as Norwalk’s Police Union President in 1976.^[3]

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