Delaware State Police Announces the Retirement of Major Sean E. Moriarty, Ed.D.
The Delaware State Police announces the retirement of Major Sean E. Moriarty, Ed.D. during his 30th year of faithful and dedicated service to the citizens and visitors of Delaware. Major Moriarty was hired on November 1, 1994, and successfully completed the 63rd Delaware State Police Academy Recruit Class. Before joining the Delaware State Police, he worked as a police officer and dispatcher in Wayland, Massachusetts. Throughout his career, Major Moriarty focused significant time and effort on education, policy development, community engagement, and police professionalization.
Additional Information on Major Moriarty’s Years of Service:
In July 1995, Major Moriarty was assigned to Troop-4 Patrol in Georgetown for field training and then promoted to Trooper First Class in November 1996.
In October 1997, he was transferred to Criminal Investigations as a detective in the Major Crimes Unit at Troop-4, promoted to Corporal in November 1998, and in January 1999, he became a certified polygraph examiner. In August 2001, he was promoted to Sergeant and assigned as a patrol shift commander at Troop-4. In September 2003, he returned to Criminal Investigations as the statewide Polygraph Unit Supervisor.
In August 2005, Major Moriarty was assigned as the Assistant Director of the Planning and Research Section at DSP Headquarters and subsequently promoted to Lieutenant. In January 2007, he was assigned to the restructured State Bureau of Identification as Assistant Director: Regulatory Section Commander and was instrumental in developing the Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit. In May 2009, he was transferred to Troop-7 in Lewes as the Deputy Troop Commander over Criminal Investigations.
In November 2009, Major Moriarty was promoted to Captain and transferred to Headquarters as the Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility, which included internal affairs, inspections, and accreditation. In September 2010, he returned to Sussex County and served as Troop Commander of Troop-4. Five years later, in November 2015, he was assigned to the DSP Training Academy as the Director of Training and Administrator for the Delaware Council on Police Training (COPT). In this capacity, he oversaw all aspects of recruit, in-service, firearms, canine, and elective training. This included revising the entire training curriculum and enhancing instructor development.
In April 2017, Moriarty was promoted to Major and assigned to the Executive Staff as the Southern Operations Officer. His duties included oversight of Delaware State Police Operations for Troop-3 (Camden), Troop-4 (Georgetown), Troop-5 (Bridgeville), and Troop-7 (Lewes). He was also responsible for all of the Delaware State Police Regional Communication Centers (911 dispatch centers) statewide. In July 2020, he was assigned as the Administrative Officer. In that role, he had direct oversight, participation, and responsibility for the following statewide sections: Human Resources, Training, Budget and Fiscal Control, Purchasing and Supply, Transportation, Building Construction and Maintenance, Victim Services, Domestic Violence Coordination, and the Critical Incident Stress Management Team.
Throughout his career, Major Moriarty focused significant time and effort on education, policy development, community engagement, and police professionalization. Some highlights include:
- In 2006, Major Moriarty identified a need for further professional development in law enforcement. After researching and working with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), he and Colonel Zebley successfully implemented the Delaware State Police Leadership Development Program. They were the first two certified instructors, and the Delaware State Police was the first state police agency in the country to adopt the program. Since its inception, 25 classes and over 600 participants from five states have completed the program.
- In 2018, Major Moriarty participated and led a team to re-write and revise the Use of Force/Response to Resistance policies and procedures and to provide subsequent training for the entire Division. This led to a certificate of recognition for the 2018 Governor’s Team Excellence Award. He then worked on revising numerous other policies and worked collaboratively with the Delaware Police Chief’s Council Policy Committee, which created Response to Resistance, Pursuits, and Accountability model policies.
- In 2021, Major Moriarty established a partnership and served as an interagency team leader with the Delaware Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to mutually address behavioral health and substance abuse cases in Delaware by partnering troopers with clinicians, peers, and treatment providers at every troop. This included the development of the Delaware Police Diversion Program (PDP), the first of its nature for a state police agency in the United States and the recipient of the Delaware Gear-3 Top Leadership Team Award for Innovation and Leadership in 2022. Since 2021, troopers have referred 4,501 individuals and 38% have accepted treatment.
Major Moriarty holds a Doctorate in Innovation and Leadership, a Master of Science in Criminal Justice, and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. He is a 2016 graduate of the 263rd Session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) National Academy, and he has completed numerous professional development courses. He was a member of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing in Delaware and the Delaware Law Enforcement Accountability Task Force. He served as a Dover Air Force Base Honorary Commander for four years and presently serves as a United States Air Force Air Mobility Command Civic Leader.
Major Moriarty is a senior certified Master Instructor with the Delaware Police Officer Standards and Training Commission (formerly COPT), Force Science Certified Force Science Analyst, Society of Human Resources Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), and a principal instructor for the Delaware State Police Leadership Development Program. In addition to teaching a myriad of courses at the Delaware State Police Academy, he was an adjunct instructor for Delaware Technical Community College, and he has instructed for Wilmington University as an adjunct professor for 22 years. He has published articles in periodicals including The Police Chief and The Delaware Trooper. He is also the author of the book Leadership Development for Law Enforcement: A Model for Program Implementation.
“Major Moriarty has been an inspiration and true friend to the women and men of the DSP,” said Colonel Melissa Zebley, Superintendent of the Delaware State Police. “His distinguished career has left an indelible mark on the DSP and the citizens of Delaware. He has overseen and been responsible for many mission-critical areas during his tenure on the Executive Staff, including the Delaware State Police Communications Section and all sworn and civilian personnel in Sussex and Kent Counties. Major Moriarty was also responsible for Human Resources, the DSP Training Academy, fiscal control, victim services, domestic violence coordination, the Critical Incident Stress Management Team, and various other diverse responsibilities. Having had a strong desire to serve others since his childhood, Major Moriarty fulfilled this aspiration by serving as a Delaware State Trooper and community educator. I have no doubt that he will continue to excel in his future endeavors. He will be deeply missed by his DSP family. However, his legacy will continue to live on. We wish Major Moriarty and his family all the best in their next chapter.”
