He talked about holding his department together earlier this year as officers grappled with the serious injury of one of their colleagues, Officer Troy Blackchief. Blackchief suffered a skull fracture and brain injury when he was hit by a driver who stole an SUV in February.

He smiles as he digs an old, yellowing copy of The Buffalo News out of a cabinet behind his desk. The article on the front page highlighted the department’s crisis intervention team – the first in Erie County – and the positive impact it had on one young Cheektowaga man.

Gould, who became Cheektowaga’s leading law enforcement officer in August 2021, is hanging up his badge and handcuffs at the end of the month after more than two decades with the Cheektowaga Police Department.

“(I have) gratitude for what this position has given me over the past 23 years and the pride of the department that I have for having the opportunity to be the leader of this department for the time I was here,” Gould said.

Lifelong public servant

Born and raised in Cheektowaga, Gould got his start in public safety when he joined the Doyle Volunteer Hose Company No. 2 as an 18-year-old.

As a young man, Gould said he was interested in becoming either a police officer or a firefighter. After high school, he got an associate’s degree in fire prevention from Erie Community College and took the civil service exams for both careers but could not turn down the opportunity to be a police officer in his hometown.

“I made the choice that I’m gonna stay in my hometown, and it worked out well,” Gould said, reflecting on that time in his life. “I’m happy with the choice.”

He joined the police department as a public safety dispatcher in 1997. Three years later, Gould became a patrol officer.

He continued rising through the ranks of the department with promotions to sergeant in 2007, lieutenant in 2011 and captain in 2018. He became assistant chief in 2020 and was named chief a year later after former Chief Michael Sliwinski died of a heart attack.

While rising through the ranks in the police department, Gould also served on the Cheektowaga School Board, from 2002 to 2015. He also continued to work as a volunteer firefighter with the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Company throughout his time as a police officer.

He credits his childhood participation in the Boy Scouts with influencing his career and life choices.

“It just seemed like that was a good route to go,” he said. “Public service is not only a stable position with good benefits, it also gives you a chance to get back to the community. And obviously, it’s an exciting job.”

Mental health training for officers is ‘so needed’

The most influential experience of Gould’s law enforcement career was his time at the FBI National Academy, he said, pointing to a yellow-painted brick that sits on a shelf behind his desk.

He received the brick in 2012 during the 10-week leadership program for law enforcement officers at the FBI headquarters in Quantico, Va. Gould is among the 1% of law enforcement officers nationwide who have been selected to participate in the training.

“I truly feel that it’s been a life-changer for me,” Gould said. “It’s made me focus on what I can do to lead this profession. Anybody can be the chief and can deal with what comes up and can be the guy who signs off on everything and makes the decisions. But what are you doing to transform your profession? That’s been my focus since I’ve come back.”

One of the biggest takeaways Gould brought back to Cheektowaga from the academy was a focus on mental health training for officers.

In the early 2010s, no police agencies in Erie County had a crisis intervention team, a community partnership among police, county health services and mental health professionals that helps address the mental health needs of citizens who enter the criminal justice system during a mental health crisis.

As a lieutenant, Gould worked to develop Western New York’s first crisis intervention team.

“I’ve been in a position where I’ve been able to really shape the community response to mental health,” Gould said. “And it’s so needed. If I didn’t do it, I think it would have came up eventually because it was such a pressing issue, but I had the honor of being on the forefront of seeing those changes happen here in our community.”

That young man helped by the crisis intervention team in Cheektowaga went from being known by every officer on the force to becoming a productive citizen, Gould recalled.

“He is doing very well, not having interactions with the police department, getting the help he needs and living a productive life,” Gould said of the man.

Additionally, Gould led the department’s partnership with the Erie County Health Department to develop a program aimed at getting people who are struggling with addiction linked with treatment.

Gould has also helped train officers outside of Cheektowaga and Western New York. He travels the state to train other officers as a consultant for the New York State Office of Mental Health.

“It’s so important that we’re doing everything we can to make sure every officer has the best training and has the skills that they need to succeed,” he said.

However, Gould said his proudest achievement during his time with the Cheektowaga Police Department was helping to open a Boys and Girls Club in the town in 2021.

“As somebody who served time on a school board, I know that when the budgets get tight, the first thing that gets cut is after-school activities,” he said. “Not every kid is interested in sports. I would be patrolling the streets and see the kids getting in trouble after school. And it just floored me that a community this size didn’t have a Boys and Girls Club.”

Who will be the next chief?

Gould’s last day as chief will be Nov. 30. His replacement will be selected by the Cheektowaga Town Board.

The Cheektowaga Police Department got rid of the assistant chief position when Gould took over as chief, so it’s unclear who his successor will be.

The board is in the process of identifying police officers with the qualifications necessary to serve as chief, Supervisor Diane Benczkowski said.

She anticipates holding interviews with potential candidates within the next week and bringing a candidate to the board for a vote in the next few weeks.