PORTSMOUTH — Dennis C. Seale, who spent more that two decades in law enforcement here before retiring as Portsmouth’s police chief in 2006, died last week at the age of 68.

According to his obituary, Seale died peacefully on Friday, March 10 at Newport Hospital, surrounded by family and friends, after a short battle with cancer. 

“He dedicated his career to public service in Portsmouth,” said Town Administrator Richard Rainer, Jr. in announcing Seale’s death to the Town Council Monday night. “Our deepest sympathies go out to his loved ones.”

Seale, an animal lover, was first hired as the town’s animal control officer in 1982, according to his obituary. He continued to progress up the ranks — patrolman, corporal, detective, lieutenant and deputy chief — before being appointed chief of police in 1998, succeeding Paul Rogers. 

Seale was Portsmouth’s eighth police chief since 1921, when William Deegan became the town’s first top cop. Raised on Aquidneck Island, Seale called Portsmouth home for all of his life. 

Council member Charles Levesque, who went to high school with Seale, remembers driving around town with Seale when Hurricane Bob struck the area in August 1991. Seale agreed to take Levesque, who was a member of the council that year, so he could get a first-hand look at the damage the storm caused locally.

Seale earned a reputation in the public’s eye as a fair and soft-spoken police chief who was accessible to all.

“Denny was the epitome of what I used to call a good cop,” Levesque said. “He had the ability to distinguish between someone who was just messing up, and somebody who was a hard case.

“He was a good, decent man — a good friend.”

At Seale’s request, there will be no services. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Potter League for Animals, 87 Oliphant Lane, Middletown, RI 02842; or Visiting Nurse Home and Hospice, 1184 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871.