After almost three decades with the Capitol Police, having served at the very top of the command ladder — including a stint as the chief — Assistant Chief Tom Reynolds is leaving the force.
His last day is Friday, when he’ll retire to take a job at a private security company as the district manager for government services.
Though he didn’t want to disclose the company’s name, Reynolds said he’ll be working in the local office of a national operation.
“It was kind of a mutual thing,” he said of how he came to take the new job. “I’d been looking, and they found me.”
Reynolds was in the running to become the full-time Capitol Police chief as he served in the acting capacity during the gap between the departure of former Chief Phillip Morse and the selection of Kim Dine, who was sworn in nearly four months ago.
But his decision to retire wasn’t prompted by being passed over for the job by the Capitol Police Board, he insisted.
“Hey, I’ve had almost 29 years here, I have mandatory retirement at age 57 and I’m going to be 54 in April,” Reynolds said, adding that money was also a factor. With the private sector job and the retirement check he’ll receive from the Capitol Police because he’s been with the force for more than 25 years, it’s a not a bad way to land.
“I’m not leaving because I have any problems here, everything’s going great,” he said. “It’s been a great place to work, I’ve loved the people, and in almost 29 years that I’ve worked here, I’ve seen a lot of things happen.”
As a Capitol Police officer, Reynolds has worked on every presidential inauguration dating back to President Ronald Reagan’s second swearing-in ceremony in 1985, a day so cold that festivities were moved indoors while Reynolds and his colleagues had to stay outside directing traffic. In 1989, he served on Vice President Dan Quayle’s dignitary protection unit, and took on increased responsibilities in orchestrating the first inaugural celebration following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
For President Barack Obama’s inauguration in January, Reynolds pretty much ran the show — a high note on which to leave, to be sure.
But Reynolds also had his low points during his six-month tenure as acting police chief. Officers accused supervisors of enforcing made-up policies and violating the tenants of the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the union cried foul over a 1,000-page packet of new directives it said it had never had a chance to review.
In the end, Reynolds was able to heal some old wounds and help dueling factions see that severe communication breakdowns might have contributed to some of the most crippling tensions.
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
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