Former Boardman Police Chief Pat Berarducci, 70, of Medina, Oh., died Sat., Jan. 30.
      Berarducci served as Boardman Police Chief from Feb. 20, 2007 to Aug., 2009.
      His brief term of chief was pocked by the politics of Trustees Kathy Miller and Robyn Gallitto, who oversaw the elimination of certification from the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program in the Boardman Local Schools.
      In the face of political upheaval, manpower during Chief Berarducci’s term fell from 63 to 48 officers.
      Upon his resignation, Chief Berarducci said he did all he could to keep patrol cars on the road.
      Chief Berarducci was a graduate of Youngstown Woodrow Wilson High School. Following his graduation he served four years with the Youngstown Police Department, where he gained a strong reputation as an undercover drug agent.
      He left the YPD to begin a 29-year career as an agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), before becoming chief in Boardman.
      He resigned his position with the BPD to become police chief in Medina, Oh. He retired from that post in June, 2017, ending a 43-year career in law enforcement.
      In May, 2009, Chief Berarducci was tapped by then Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to serve in the state’s Ohio Elder Abuse Commission.
      In 2013, he received the William French Smith Award for outstanding contributions to cooperative law enforcement from United State Attorney General Eric Holder.
      In addition, while serving as chief in Boardman Township, he joined with the Boardman Ministerial Association to form a Chaplain Corps (now defunct) within the local department.
      Upon his resignation from the Boardman Police Department, Chief Berarducci noted his tenure was crimped by declining manpower.
      “Contact by Boardman Police Department officers with the public they are supposed to serve, is well below the standard of service that was achieved as a professionally-accredited agency just three years ago,” Mr. Berarducci said.
      Chief Berarducci, the son of Raymond and Ann Berarducci, leaves his wife, the former Judith Barrett, a son, Patrick, and a daughter, Megan.
      A son, Justin R. Berarducci, died Sept. 14, 2005. Justin was a lifelong resident of the Hattie Larlham Foundation. No matter what his duties in law enforcement, Chief Berarducci always made time, every week to visit with Justin.
     
      PICTURED: PAT BERARDUCCI, pictured, who served as Boardman Township Police Chief from Feb., 2007 to Aug., 2009, died Sat., Jan. 30. He was a 43-year veteran of law enforcement, and also served with the Youngstown Police Department, ATF, and ended his career as Chief of Police in Medina, Oh.