Bill Ferri

After 52 Years on the Job, New Canaan Police Lt. Bill Ferri To Retire at Month’s End

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Bill Ferri was drafted by the U.S. Army in 1965, one year after graduating from Stamford High School. 

He would serve as a specialist in the central highlands of Vietnam for one year starting in 1966. “I didn’t go to college,” the New Canaan resident recalled Thursday, standing by the veteran memorial plaques in the north lobby of Town Hall. “I didn’t want to go to college. They took me right off the street.”

Months after returning from the war, he joined the New Canaan Police Department, and he’s worked there ever since—for 52 years and four months—in a professional career that’s seen him protect and serve generations of locals. That career soon will close, as Lt. Bill Ferri prepares to retire at month’s end, marking the end of an era for the Police Department as well as the wider community.

Around Town

VIDEO: Crossing Guard Terry Darden Receives His Gift from the Community

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Bringing a Gift To Terry Darden 12 2 15

Uploaded by Michael Dinan on 2015-12-02.

The New Canaan woman who kickstarted a fundraising campaign to help out a beloved crossing guard who needed $3,000 to get his car fixed on Wednesday afternoon delivered news of a grassroots community-wide effort to help him. Terry Darden teared up when he learned (see video above) what had come so far from the Go Fund Me campaign launched by Carolyn Vermeer Ditlevsen, a South School mom who has gotten to know the crossing guard over the past few years and holds him in high esteem, as so many do. By the time he learned about it, the campaign was approaching $8,000, with more than 160 people contributing. “I just thank the Lord I have people that pass me every day, reach out and touch me like I touch other people,” Darden told NewCanaanite.com moments after receiving the gift, standing at his post by the blinking light at South Avenue and Gower Road. “This is absolutely great and I appreciate it.