WESTFIELD—One of the city’s long-serving police captains has retired.
Hipolito “Paul” Nunez has retired after 32 years on the force, with the final six of those years as administrative captain for the department. Nunez had several accomplishments while on the force, including combining the police and fire dispatch to create Westfield’s communications center, and becoming the first and only Hispanic officer to earn a rank in the department beyond patrolman.
“When I look at my career, I look at a lot of things I did,” Nunez said. “Uniting the fire department and police department, uniting communications.”
Nunez said that his work with the department is something that he is proud of, and that it was the residents he served that helped him feel that way.
“People say I made a difference in their lives, and that’s what you do it for,” he said.
Hipolito “Paul” Nunez, who retired from Westfield Police Department this week.
However, it wasn’t always positive.
Nunez said that the most difficult time was when one of his fellow officers, Jose Torres, was tragically killed while directing traffic for a construction project in 2012. In addition to losing a fellow officer, Nunez lost a friend, and he had the unfortunate task of answering questions and addressing the media on that tragic day.
“I was the public information officer at that time and the media wanted a story,” he said. “But they tried to pull things that aren’t there.”
Nunez continued to serve the department as captain however, overseeing the communications and computers of the department, and worked with assistant city solicitor Shanna Reed to eventually combine the fire and police dispatches to create the communications center .
“He was an outstanding administrator,” Westfield Police Chief John Camerota, said. “His responsibility was all of our computer systems and his biggest accomplishment was the dispatch center. He’s certainly going to be missed.”
Mayor Brian Sullivan said that he and the city appreciate Nunez’s efforts over his career and recognize his importance to the community.
“He has given back to this city time and time again by representing himself and his career in law enforcement,” Sullivan said. “The Nunez family should be proud of [Nunez] and his accomplishments.
Nunez will not be leaving the public service sector of the city completely, however. In addition to being a director of the Boys and Girls Club of Westfield—of which he has been a member for 30 years—he is also president of the Kiwanis Club and was recently chosen to be a member of the Westfield public safety communications commission. As a member of the latter commission, Nunez will help to oversee the communications center he helped create and continue to assist those who serve.
After all, Nunez believes that those officers on the street are the true heroes.
“Those guys who put on the uniform every day and patrol those streets, those are my heroes,” Nunez said. “Without a doubt those are my heroes.”
