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Luzerne County Det. Daniel J. Beky, who passed away Sunday at the age of 66, once said he missed “working the streets.”
Beky made the statement behind his office desk about 15 years ago when he was police chief in Kingston, where he began his 45-year career in law enforcement as a patrolman in 1974, shortly after graduating from King’s College with a degree in criminal justice.
“The passing of former Kingston Police Chief and current Luzerne County Detective Daniel Beky hit the law enforcement community hard on Sunday. Dan Beky was not only an outstanding law enforcement officer but also a family man and great friend to many,” Kingston Police Chief Richard J. Kotchik said Monday.
“When I got hired with the Kingston Police Department in 1999, Dan Beky was the assistant police chief with the department. I remember him as being tough on crime and always there to help out fellow officers and guide them in the right direction on any case,” Kotchik stated.
Across social media, Beky is being remembered honest and dedicated to the profession.
“Rest in Peace, Dan. Thank you for your honest and true work through your long and distinguished career in law enforcement. You were a good man, a good friend and a dam good cop!” wrote a Wilkes-Barre police officer on social media.
Current and former Luzerne County assistant district attorneys expressed their shock and sorrow to Beky’s sudden passing and offered condolences to his family.
District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis in a statement on Sunday called Beky “one of this county’s finest investigators, a law enforcement officer and a friend. He was always a helping hand to those in need and an iron first to those who were cavalier about their obligation to follow the law.”
“On behalf of our entire office, I send out prayers and thoughts to Dan’s wife and children. It is my hope that Dan’s friends and family can, in some small measure, set aside the sorrow they feel for having lost him, and feel comfort instead for having the blessing of having him as a husband, father, grandfather or friend for all these years,” Salavantis said in her statement.
A lengthy career
Beky began his career as a patrolman in 1974 and worked for the Kingston Police Department for 15 years. He left in 1989 and worked for a private detective agency but returned to the Kingston police force in 1991. He was named a Kingston police detective in 1992 and assistant police chief in 1997.
Beky was appointed police chief in Kingston by former mayor James Haggerty, now a district judge, following the passing of police chief Jim Keiper in June 2002.
“I also had the pleasure to work under Chief Beky when he was promoted to the rank of police chief with the Kingston Police Department. Chief Beky was a leader and guided the Kingston Police Department in a professional and proactive manner to keep the community of Kingston safe,” Kotchik stated.
Beky retired as Kingston’s police chief in 2004 when he was hired by then District Attorney David W. Lupas as a county detective, initially assigned to the “Project Safe Neighborhoods” initiative.
At the time, Beky said he looked forward to becoming once again a detective as he missed working the streets.
“That’s my passion, investigating,” Beky said at the time of his county detective hiring.
‘All-around great guy’
“Even after Chief Beky retired from the Kingston Police Department and accepted the position of Luzerne County detective, he was only a phone call away if anyone in law enforcement ever needed help or had a question. Chief Dan Beky was an all-around great guy and will sadly be missed by all members of the law enforcement community,” Kotchik stated.
“Dan was chief prior to me becoming chief in Hanover about 10 years ago,” Hanover Township Police Chief Al Walker said Monday. “I did have opportunities to work with him through the Luzerne County Detective Division. He was very professional, a great guy to work with and was really astute in his craft. Always did a great job and always was a pleasure to work with him on cases.”
Memorial funeral services are being coordinated by the North Wilkes-Barre location of the John V. Morris Family Funeral Home Inc., 625 N. Main St.