Friends, Family, Officers pay tribute to Canton’s First Police Chief

A funeral service for Canton's first police chief, Charles Joseph Keefe, was held at 9:45 a.m. today (Friday March 9, 2012.)

The 9:45 a.m. funeral took place at Vincent Funeral Home, followed by Mass of Christian Burial at in Collinsville. A police escort with officers from Hartford and Canton accompanied the procession to the church. A private burial will follow. 

Keefe died on March 4, according to his obituary. Memorial donations in Keefe's honor can made to a St. Baldrick's fundraiser being conducted by a family member. 

Keefe became the town's first police chief after retiring from the Hartford Police Department in 1970. According to the 1956 "Canton Sesquicentennial" publication, the town once relied on constables for law enforcement, eventually sharing the services of a state officer with New Hartford. In 1955, Canton had its own state trooper. 

The town hired its own full-time police officer in 1969 and tapped Keefe from Hartford and John Laducer from Wethersfield to lead a new department a year later, Sgt. Kevin Witkos said.