Spell named chief in Lewes
Thomas Spell made a permanent move to Lewes with his family just about a year ago. At the time he was working as the superintendent of the Ferris School for Boys in Wilmington, commuting an hour and a half to and from work each day. Starting this week, that commute is down to five minutes, as Spell is the new Lewes chief of police.
Serving more than 20 years with the Wilmington Police Department, Spell brings a great deal of experience to Lewes, one of the factors that set him apart, Mayor Ted Becker said.
“We had an excellent field of candidates,” Becker said. “Our selection was based upon his experience and his commitment to community policing.”
Spell's first day on the job was June 15, but he also attended the June 13 city council meeting.
“It would be wrong if I didn't give a shout out to Chief Horvath and his efforts here over the last six years,” Spell said. “This is a well-equipped and pretty professional police department, and he left it in pretty good standing.”
His initial goals are to continue providing professional service to the citizens of Lewes and work with residents on community policing. Becker said community policing was a common topic heard from the public.
Spell said a town like Lewes is almost like a dream come true for police officers who want to work closely with residents.
“Lewes wants to work in partnership with the police to solve community problems and not just let the police do it,” he said.
A graduate of Penn State and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development school, Spell joined Wilmington Police Department in 1988. He rose up through the ranks to lieutenant and executive officer of the Uniform Services Division in charge of about 200 uniformed policemen. During his time in Wilmington, he served as detective for about seven years and logged 18 years with the SWAT team. He retired in June 2011 and became superintendent of the Ferris School for Boys, a treatment facility for court-committed boys aged 13 to 18 under the umbrella of the state's Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services.
Spell lives in the Lewes area with his wife, Ellen, who owns Sea Barre Fitness on Route 1 in Lewes. The couple has three children; their 21-year-old daughter and 19-year-old son both attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, while their younger daughter will be a junior at Cape in the fall.
Spell is active in the Lewes CrossFit community and also enjoys the outdoors, hunting and fishing.
He said he's eager to get to work in Lewes.
“I'm a lifelong public servant,” he said. “It's an honor to serve the people of Lewes.”
