Rod Carr
March 11, 2011

Services have been set for Phoenix Police Chief Rod Carr, who died Friday morning at his home in Clay.

Services will be at 1 p.m. March 19 at Word of Life Assembly of God, 12 E. Oneida St., Baldwinsville with the Rev. David Dyke from Church of the Nazarene, Syracuse officiating.
Contributions can be made in lieu of flowers to Concerns of Police Survivors (WWW.NationalCops.org).

Carr, 64, started out in radio where he worked for many years. He also worked as an anchorman with Channel 9 news. In 1970, he was hired by the DeWitt Police Department and in 1971 transferred to the Syracuse Police Department, retiring in 1993. He was the spokesman for the Syracuse police for 15 years.

He joined the village of Phoenix Police Dept., in 2004 and became chief of that department in 2006. Carr was an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoyed his two pets, Sophie and Hannah.

His survivors include his wife of 29 years, Maragret M. (Kraus) Carr of Liverpool, his sons; Bill Carr of Cortland, Jon (Apryl) Carr of Rome, NY and Christopher (Missy) Baechle of North Syracuse; his daughter, Amy L. Baechle of Syracuse; his mother-in-law, Mary Kraus of Utica; six grandchildren.

Syracuse Paper online 3/13/11

Friday, 3/11/11 Phoenix, NY -- Rod Carr, the retired Syracuse police spokesman who became police chief in the village of Phoenix, died this morning at his home in Clay.
  Carr died at 6:10 a.m. about two weeks shy of his 65 birthday, said Phoenix Police Officer Joseph Marotta, who became the officer-in-charge of the village department.
  Carr worked right up until his death. He finished his shift at 4 p.m. Thursday, but came back in to help Marotta with an investigation later that night, leaving the station at 11:30 p.m.   "He seemed very upbeat," Marotta said. "We're all speechless. It's a devastating hit to the department and the village." Marotta went to Phoenix Mayor Anthony Fratto's house to give him the news this morning.
  "We don't know the cause of death," Fratto said. "He was not ill." Fratto said Carr e-mailed and texted him at 11:39 p.m. Thursday. The mayor said he's not sure when a search for a new chief will begin.
  State Police Capt. Jeffrey Raub said the initial circumstances point to Carr dying from a heart attack, but no autopsy had been performed yet.
  Carr was hired by Marotta, then a sergeant, in 2004. He was promoted to chief in 2006. Previously, he served as the spokesman for the Syracuse Police Department for 15 years before retiring in 1993. He came to Syracuse in 1969 to  work for a local TV station. After retiring from the Syracuse police force, he restarted his broadcasting career with stints as a talk show host on local airwaves. He later worked in Chittenango before hiring on full time in Phoenix. Both of his sons are in law enforcement locally, Fratto said.

Syracuse Newspapers - Online  3/11/2011
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Remembering Cop Carr - WGMD Radio

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All access Music Group

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Clay (WSYR-TV) – Phoenix Police Chief Rod Carr passed away on Friday morning. Carr died of an apparent heart attack at his home in the Town of Clay.

Carr’s law-enforcement career began in DeWitt in the 1970s but he quickly moved over to the Syracuse Police. He was there for years and then eventually spent a stint in Chittenango.

Phoenix was intended to be a wind-down post for his career.

“He was loved among the community, he was very good with people, and his loyalty to the village and loyalty to my office…you couldn’t ask for more loyalty...very good person,” said Phoenix Mayor Anthony Fratto.

Carr had been the Chief Phoenix for almost five years. The community is nothing like the place where he really made his name, Syracuse. It is a small village and the position of chief is technically only part-time, but the mayor will tell you he treated it just like it was full time.

“Rod Carr was in the village last night at 11:30 on a call and he passed away at home at 6:11 a.m. this morning,” Fratto said.

Although he loved his career in law enforcement, it was only part of Carr’s identity. He also wove a career in broadcasting around his career wearing the badge. He was an anchor at NewsChannel 9 and also hosted a show on WHEN.

“At first, he looks a little gruff,” said his friend, Gary Nolan. “But then you find out he’s got an incredible sense of humor and an incredible background…he just seemed to know a little about everything.”

Nolan and Carr met in 1992 when they were at WHEN. They remained friends after that.

“He was like a brother and a father,” Nolan said. “I’m really just going to miss him…big empty hole in my life.”

Carr was just shy of his 65th birthday when he passed away.

Published on WSYR TV, Website

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