Former Newburgh deputy police Chief Arnold “Butch” Amthor has been named the new deputy chief of the Newburgh city department He will take over command of the Police Department which has been without a Chief since April.
In addition, Pastor Rob McLymore, who is a full-time police lieutenant in the Town of Wallkill, will become the Newburgh department’s senior advisor acting as a liaison between the community and city government. Amthor and McLymore will start on August 1.
“The addition of Chief Amthor and Mr. McLymore will bring new leadership to a critical department,” said Mayor Torrance Harvey. “Together the two will launch initiatives and programs that will turn Newburgh’s police force into a more efficient and transparent law enforcement operation.”
The City of Newburgh originally scheduled a Civil Service exam for the position of Police Chief this past March. Unfortunately, the State of New York indefinitely postponed all civil service exams due to COVID-19. Since that time, the City has hosted a number of meetings with community leaders regarding the selection process of Amthor and McLymore.
Bishop Jeffrey Woody was among the many community leaders impressed by Amthor and McLymore, and is glad that they will both have a prominent role in the NYS Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative.
“I am delighted to know that Newburgh has swung the pendulum towards progress! Mr. Amthor has previously served our community and has had some innovative programs which we look forward to seeing again,” said Bishop Woody. “I welcome Mr. McLymore, who is a son of Newburgh, to this new position and believe that he will connect with our residents and bridge a gap that has existed for too long.”
Pastor Willie Mays, President of the Christian Ministerial Fellowship, also commented on the decision when he stated, “I am glad to have worked with the City to help determine new leadership for its Police Department. Butch and Rob will make for a terrific team as we embark upon critical reforms as a community. I have known Lt. McLymore for almost all of his life and I believe him to be a great choice in assisting the new Police Chief with resolving community issues as they occur.”
Several City leaders met with the Highland Falls Chapter of the NAACP shortly after the meeting with Bishop Woody and Pastor Mays. During this meeting, City leadership introduced members of the NAACP to Amthor and discussed the possibility of having him return to the City along with McLymore assisting in a senior advisory capacity.
To that end, Ray Harvey, President of the local chapter of the NAACP stated, “I am on board with the hiring of Chief Amthor and Pastor McLymore and am looking forward to working together to implement these critical reforms.”
Amthor’s career in law enforcement spans over 35 years. His early experience includes service as a Deputy Sheriff with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, as well as tenure as a Police Officer in Montgomery, Cornwall, New Windsor and later in the City of Newburgh. Amthor has a history of success balancing policing operations with community input, outreach, and engagement. He was instrumental in promotion of the City of Newburgh’s Police-Community Relations & Review Board and implemented data-driven policing by hiring the City’s first crime analyst—moves which brought a 40% reduction in the City’s gun-related crime in 2006. Aside from the many benchmarks of his career, Amthor coordinated the original “call in” effort in the City of Newburgh, where more than 30 offenders caught selling narcotics were successfully diverted to rehabilitation and other services in lieu of felony arrest.
Amthor left the City of Newburgh in December of 2007. He spent the last 12 years as Town of Montgomery Police Chief, while also serving as part-time officer-in-charge for the Village of Maybrook, where he was responsible for creating Orange County’s first program to channel offenders with substance use disorders away from arrest and into treatment.
“It’s really all I ever wanted to do,” he told the Wallkill Valley Times in June. “I don’t recall ever wanting to be anything but a police officer since I was a kid.”
On May 16, 2017, he was wounded in action, sustaining a gunshot would while responding to a domestic incident in Maybrook.
He announced his retirement last month and was recently honored by the Town of Montgomery for his years of service.
“It’s time...,” he said. “Friends of mine and other people that have retired before me told me that there’s gonna come a point in time where you’re just gonna say ‘I’ve had enough.’ And not in an angry way, not in any way, there’s no ill feelings.”
Amthor was born in the City of Newburgh, and has been a lifetime resident of the Hudson Valley. He is happily married to his wife, Lisa, and has two children.