Family, friends attend dedication of City Hall bench for Chief Luty

By RICK MILLER

Olean Star

OLEAN — Nearly 50 family members and friends of the late Olean Police Chief Michael Luty attended a ceremony Wednesday to dedicate a bench outside the Olean Municipal Building.

Luty joined the Olean Police Department in 1951 and served as police chief for 25 years until his retirement in 1993. He died in November 2023.

The inscription on the black stone bench reads in part: “Chief Luty Memorial. In Loving Memory of Michael Luty. Donated by his children to the city he loved.”

Mayor Bill Aiello spoke before the bench was unveiled Wednesday afternoon on the plaza on the end of the Olean Municipal Building facing North Union Street.

He recalled that Chief Luty had hired him as a patrolman in the Olean Police Department.

Before the bench was unveiled, the Chief’s son John Luty recalled that his father walked to work from the North End every morning wearing a suit.

Beverly Bennett, one of the Chief’s five daughters, said she was glad she and her siblings could all be together for the dedication of the bench.

Also attending the dedication were Luty’s other children, Kathy Covert, Nancy Donnelly, Christine Proto and Connie Barth.

Another tribute to Luty, a Hometown Hero banner, flies just around the front of the Municipal Building. It is in front of the East State Street entrance to the Olean Police Department.