NORWICH – Thursday marked the end of over two decades of service for a local police officer.
Assistant Chief Van Miles has served the public trust since 1986 and has been a Norwich City Police officer for the last twenty.
“My primary consideration is my family. My wife has stayed with me through all the rotating shifts, all the late nights, and she was there after a lot of the bad times. For the sake of my own family I need to find something else to do while I’m still young enough to do it,” said Miles.
Miles has accepted a position as a sale representative at Christman Motor Sales, along South Broad Street in Norwich. “Both my family and I are looking forward to my new job. I’m bringing with me an honest reputation of integrity and fairness. I hate to say it, but it will be nice to deal with people who aren’t in the disposition of being, upset, irritated or dangerous, like you commonly encounter as a police officer.
“I was going through Van’s personnel files the other day and saw several commendations, from both the public and from law enforcement agencies. He was really the right man at the right time, he picked up many duties once I was assigned to the fire house,” said Norwich Police Chief Joseph Angelino
“Van, is a great officer who will be sorely missed. Unfortunately he didn’t want any fanfare or party on his way out and he deserved it, but that tells how very seriously he took his job. He was one of the most professional officers I’ve worked with and he did very best to serve our community, I wish him luck in his second career,” said District Attorney Joseph McBride
Miles rose through the ranks of the Norwich Police Department under the guide of the two former officers he credits for his early mentoring; Assistant Chief Paul Mirabito and Detective Sergeant Murray Rouch.
“They took me under their wing as a young naive kid and guided and molded me into what I would become today, I’m eternally grateful for it,” said Miles.
Mile was promoted to sergeant in ‘96 and acted as a police drill and firearms instructor at the Broome County Enforcement Academy, helping to train over 220 recruits. Later that year Miles was again promoted to 2nd Assistant Police Chief and began operating as the day shift supervisor.
“He was a great natural shot with a pistol and he’ll be very difficult to replace,” said Angelino.
Although his actual retirement date is Aug. 15, Miles has been using the last of his vacation time to leave active duty as of yesterday. After 20 years of service most police agencies offer full retirement, Miles who is 42 ,will be entitled to full benefits. At the time of his retirement Miles had the third highest seniority of all the officers serving at the PD, including the Chief.
Miles is an alumni of Norwich High School and graduate with the class of ‘83. After receiving his high school diploma, Miles joined the army for two years, serving most of his time in Germany. After being discharged Miles joined the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office for about a year in 1986 before transferring to the PD in 1987.
“There have been many times with the job I felt disenchanted and basically depressed. My favorite moments, there are only a few, is when people have come back to the station to thank me for helping them. They really appreciated my efforts and came in to tell me. Those are the high points of being a police officer, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciated them,” said Miles.

e-mail: tmurphy@evesun.com