Sarah L. Stewart
April 30, 2008

As Vail’s Chief of Police for more than six years, Dwight Henninger faces the balance between enforcing the law and keeping Vail a desirable destination.

If a tourist drives the wrong way in a roundabout — something that happens surprisingly often, he says — do you give them a ticket, or just a warning so they learn their lesson and leave with a better impression of Vail?

It’s these kinds of problems — transportation, parking, along with petty theft — that most often plague Vail, a town fortunate to not have the rate of violent crime that many communities do, Henninger says.

Yet still he worries about how to better incorporate Vail’s transient workforce into the community, with the belief that people who are tied to their community are less likely to make bad decisions.

“It’s a tough job,” Henninger says. “It’s a job where you make some enemies because you have to tell people no sometimes.”

You previously served in Laguna Beach, Calif. — how different is Vail?
I find that things are pretty similar in a lot ways between the two resort communities. ...
In reality, people on vacation are people on vacation. Sometimes I can close my eyes and feel like I’m back in Laguna Beach.

What are some special problems in a resort town?
Sometimes people go on vacation and they don’t act like they would at home. They either drink too much or (get too crazy). Generally that’s a pretty small percentage of the group that comes here.

Why did you come to Vail?
I grew up going to Lake Tahoe and I actually taught skiing. ... I thought I wanted to be a police chief, and I thought I wanted it to be in a mountain town. I feel very lucky that I accomplished that goal. ... I appreciate it every day.

How much time do you spend out on the streets?
Not much. I miss being a police officer, although I officially still am. ... I don’t get out there as much as I would like to, and I do miss that.


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