End of Watch for Dudley Police Chief Steven J. Wojnar

January 13, 2023

“Chief Wojnar your time for rest and relaxation has arrived. Congratulations Chief, we have it from here.”
Those words broadcasted from the Police Dispatch Center in Webster on January 13 marked the retirement of Dudley Police Chief Steven J. Wojnar.

On the last day of his 34-year career in Dudley, the Chief visited Mason Road School where he is known as “Officer Friendly” to the elementary school children, who he has lunched with and read stories to for years.
Afterward, the End of Watch call was broadcasted from the dispatch center in Webster and at Dudley dispatch his wife, Christine, voiced a moving message.

Back at Town Hall, town employees gathered to celebrate the Chief. State Sen. Ryan C. Fattman presented a citation in recognition of his many years of service to the Police Department and community. Chief Wojnar pinned the chief badge he wore for 20 years on his successor Marek Karlowicz. And town officials, Selectman Steven P. Sullivan and Town Administrator Johnathan Ruda thanked the Chief for his many years of service.

“I’m happy for Chief Wojnar and maybe even more so for his family as he begins retirement,” Ruda said. “It is no small accomplishment to begin and end a 34-year career in the same town, plus spend most of that career as a department head. On behalf of the Board of Selectmen, I thank Chief Wojnar for his unwavering professionalism and for serving as an exemplary leader. He is truly a credit to our community and his department.”

Hired as a Reserve Police Officer in 1988, Wojnar rose through the ranks first as Patrolman in 1990, Sergeant in 2002, and Chief in 2003.

During his career he has served as a Court Liaison Officer and Crime Scene Technician. He has been active in our schools, formerly serving as a field attendance officer, assisted in starting the School Resource Officer Program, and is known as “Officer Friendly” for his work at the Mason Road Elementary School.

During his 20 years as Chief, he has been involved in many cases, including the first Amber Alert in Massachusetts in 2003. His charitable undertakings have included the United Way of Webster and Dudley, Helping Address the Needs of Dudley Seniors (HANDS), and the Jimmy Fund. He has served on the Southern Worcester County Drug and Counter Crime Task Force, as President of the Central MA Chiefs of Police, as a member of the Executive Planning Committee for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and as President of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association in 2018.

Additionally, he has served as an Adjunct Professor in the Criminal Justice Program at Nichols College since 2009. The Chief was inducted into the Grafton High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.