Police Chief Teresa Walter

Our Hero of the Week is Teresa Walter, chief of the Havre de Grace Police Department.

Walter, 51, has been police chief since July 2005. She began her career with the Harford County Sherrif's office in 1980, working there until the day before she took over in Havre de Grace.

PATCH: What do you enjoy most about your job?

CHIEF WALTER: Probably the people. Both the people that I work with and our citizens. This is a phenomenal community. It truly, truly is. It's a very close-knit community, very into volunteerism. I've never seen a community that volunteers as much as this community does. That's absolutely phenomenal and I truly do enjoy that.

PATCH: What is something the public doesn't really understand about your job?

CHIEF WALTER: I think people have the feeling that the police can do everything, solve all the problems. Whether its water and sewer issues to daycare issues to criminal activities. Unfortunately, while we can accomplish quite a bit, we can't solve all the problems. We do try. Truly, if it's not a law enforcement activity, we try to help them out as much as we can. We can't solve everything, though we do give it a try.

PATCH: What are some things you like to do in your time off?

CHIEF WALTER: I very much like to run. I like to keep in shape. Reading—I'm an avid reader. And music—I listen to a wide variety of music.

PATCH: That leads right into the next question. What is on your iPod?

CHIEF WALTER: I have everything from Metallica, Poy Dog Pondering — they're an interesting group out of Chicago. Very eclectic. I've got blues, jazz. I also go to the symphony in the winter time. That's one of my favorite things to do there.

PATCH: What is your favorite movie?

CHIEF WALTER: "Casablanca." I love it because it has every neat saying that you'll ever hear in the movies. 'Here's looking at you, kid.' 'We'll always have Paris.' 'Play it again, Sam.' I also like it because not only is it a romance, but it's also dealing with the war and the intrigue in espionage. That type of thing. It has a little bit of everything.

PATCH: What makes the community of Havre de Grace so unique?

CHIEF WALTER: The people do. The people absolutely do. We have a lot of people who were born and raised here, they might leave for a while, and then they come back.  Or, once they come into the community or visit the community, they return, they stay. There are a lot of people that, just traveling by, came into Havre de Grace, and now they've relocated into Havre de Grace. It says a lot, it bodes well for the community, and for the people of Havre de Grace.

To nominate a local hero, e-mail our editor at sean.welsh@patch.com