On Oct. 6, The Granby Board of Selectmen honored the town’s police and fire chiefs.
Granby Police Chief Scott Sansom was awarded a proclamation at the board of selectmen meeting for having been honored as a Distinguished Chief by the Police Commissioner’s Association of Connecticut on Sept. 24 for his many years of achievements.
Sansom began his career in 1995 with the Hartford Police Department. In his 20 years there, he held all ranks and many positions working on federal, state and local task forces to combat urban crime. He held several command positions, including Chief of North Operations, Chief of Detectives and Chief of Professional Standards.
In 2014, he was sworn in as East Hartford’s chief of police, where he led a total of 164 employees and oversaw the installation of a new CAD/RMS system, body/dash cameras, a town-wide camera system intelligence center and a scheduling and document management system. He also instituted a community policing program and a police chaplain corps.
Sansom was hired as Granby’s police chief in October 2023 and has continued his distinguished career serving the town.
Sansom’s education includes a bachelor of arts in economics from Central Connecticut State University and a master of arts in public policy from Trinity College. He graduated from the Senior Management Institute for Police in Boston and the FBI National Academy Session 267.
Sansom is a member of The International Association of Chiefs of Police, New England Association of Chiefs of Police, National Internal Affairs Association and the Fraternal Order of Police. He is the co-chair of the Connecticut Police Chief’s Association’s Officer Wellness Committee and past president of the Capital Region Chiefs of Police Association.
Also at the Oct. 6 board of selectmen meeting, the town honored former Fire Chief John Horr, Jr. for his 45-year commitment to emergency services, which began in 1980 when he joined the Lost Acres Fire Department. In 1986, he was appointed lieutenant. In the next decade he became captain and assistant chief and served as the vice-president of the department.
From 2007 through his retirement in 2025 (with one year off between 2012 and 2013), Horr served as chief. During that time the department was recognized for its compliance in seat belt use and implementation of OSHA regulations. He oversaw the upgrading of equipment including that needed for extrications and thermal imaging. Perhaps most important was his effort to improve radio communications.
In addition to his work as chief, Horr served as an Emergency Medical Technician for the Granby Ambulance Association from 1982 to 1995. Also in 1982, he was a dispatcher for the Simsbury Fire Department. In 1986, he joined the Granby Police Department as a part-time dispatcher—a position he still holds. For the past several years, Horr has served as leader of Task Force 54, a regional team of fire departments including Avon, Burlington, Canton, Farmington, Granby and Simsbury.
In addition to honoring Horr for his dedication to the health and safety of the Town of Granby, the proclamation included wishes for a “fulfilling and well-deserved retirement” and heartfelt gratitude for his remarkable contributions to the town’s emergency services.