Officer with 29 years on the force gets captain’s job

Port Washington Police Lt. Craig Czarnecki has been promoted to captain of administration.

Czarnecki, whose promotion was effective Oct. 4, was appointed by Police Chief Kevin Hingiss.

A 29-year-veteran of the Port police department, Czarnecki was one of three candidates for the position. All the candidates were from within the department, Hingiss said.

Hingiss said Czarnecki stood out from the field in part due to his experience with technology, especially the department’s body cameras and the laptop computers used in squad cars.

“Not that the other candidates aren’t well respected and liked by the officers but that is certainly the case for Craig and he is also a well organized individual, intelligent and easy to work with,” Hingiss added.

Czarnecki was hired by the Port Washington Police Department on March 22, 1991, and was promoted to lieutenant in 2012.

He was a member of the Ozaukee County Special Response Team and serves as a firearm instructor. 

In 2011, he received the Van Ells-Schanen American Legion Post 82 Law & Order Award.

Hingiss told the Police and Fire Commission on Monday that five officers have applied to fill two lieutenant’s positions in the department.

One of those positions is for Czarnecki’s replacement as lieutenant, Hingiss said, while the other has been open for a few years. 

Historically, he said, the department has had a lieutenant for each of the three shifts during the day. With retirement and now Czarnecki’s promotion, there currently is only one lieutenant, Kurt Knowski.

“Now is the right time to fill all the positions,” Hingiss said.

He told the commission he hopes to name one of the lieutenants in December and the other in January.