As Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Joseph Coffay’s executive assistant, Gwen Garrett knows, he hates to be blindsided.
So pulling off a surprise retirement celebration on Friday was no small feat.
“Well Joe, today we got you,” she said.
Friends, colleagues and officials crowded the room at King’s College and greeted the retiring chief with shouts of “surprise” when Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown led him into the crowd at King’s College.
“This will be my last lie to you,” Brown said.
Coffay said he had been in a panic all day leading up to the event.
“There’s not much I can say other than thanks,” he said at the door. “It’s been a great career, I loved every minute of it and it’s very hard to walk out the door.”
Coffay will retire from the Wilkes-Barre Police Department after 35 years on Monday and become chief of the newly formed West Side Regional Police Department which covers Edwardsville and Larksville.
Looking back at Coffay's 35-year career
Throughout his decades of service in Wilkes-Barre, Coffay was a patrol officer, detective, captain and more before becoming chief in 2018.
Coffay received recognitions from city and state officials including Governor Josh Shapiro at Friday’s celebration.
Wilkes-Barre police Captain Michael Boyle, who will succeed Coffay as chief, said it was hard to summarize all of Coffay’s contributions to the Wilkes-Barre department and community.
“The chief was a cop’s cop,” he said. “A man whose leadership style always placed the safety of the public and his officers.”
Boyle said Coffay set a “shining example” as he rose through the ranks in Wilkes-Barre.
”Joe Coffay has been a role model for some, a mentor for others, but an example to all officers who follow him that hard work, dedication and perseverance do pay off,” Boyle said.
After the celebration, Coffay said he is leaving the department in good hands, but it is hard to leave the city behind.
“I love the city of Wilkes-Barre, I live in the city of Wilkes-Barre,” he said. “But I felt that…it’s time for somebody else to step in and put their stamp on the department.”
He said he will miss his fellow Wilkes-Barre officers more than anything else.
“I’ve hired 47 officers here. I mean, that’s my family,” he said. “That’s the hardest thing in the world is to leave them. But you know, it’s time.”
