Sun City remembers security chief

Louis Polizzotti, 65, chief of the Sun City Summerlin Security Patrol, died unexpectedly while on duty Feb. 26.

He had become chief the month before. He joined the all-volunteer force of about 240 people on Nov. 22, 2008.

The community held a memorial for him March 9 at Desert Vista Community Center, 10360 Sun City Blvd. It was attended by about 225 people.

“He was an overall great person,” said Judy Hunt, who groomed Polizzotti to take over her position as chief.

She said he was always smiling and had a low-key personality, a man who took things in stride and believed in helping others.

Bill Schoening became assistant chief not long before Polizzotti died.

“We were just getting to know one another, and I was looking forward to working with him,” Schoening said. “I found him a very, very intelligent man. ... The thing that impressed me most, and I knew we were going to be able to work together, was that he made decisions very quickly, and they were largely correct.”

He said he would “try to continue Lou’s legacy.”

BJ Martens, public relations officer for Sun City Summerlin’s Community Preparedness Committee, said Polizzotti was quiet and pleasant and good at furthering communication between her group and the Patrol.

“He seemed to be a natural coordinator,” she said. “He was very efficient at putting things together and getting things done. But it was in a quiet, peaceful, effective way.”

Patty Rosia, executive director of Sun City, called him a good leader who took pride in his work with the Patrol.

“When the situation occurred with his accident and his medical issue, I was called immediately by Patrol,” Rosia said. “Now, these are people who are under his control and, under the circumstances, with him being their chief, they were so professional during the entire thing. And it was a good three hours from the time they found him to the time they got word from the hospital that he had passed away. ... The entire ordeal, it was extremely traumatic for all of them, but they stayed professional and kept the chain of command informed, and that just speaks volumes to, in the short time he was the chief, ... how professional he was and how he stressed that with his team.”

Polizzotti was born in Lawrence, Mass., to John and Josephine Polizzotti. He graduated from Lawrence High School in 1966. He then attended a community college and Suffolk University.

He worked for the city of Lawrence in the purchasing department and retired as manager of a newspaper distributor. A five-year resident of Sun City Summerlin, he enjoyed helping his community by volunteering with the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acted as liaison with the Patrol and the Community Preparedness Committee, as well as with the Metropolitan Police.

Polizzotti leaves behind a wife and a son in Las Vegas and a brother-in-law in Boston and several cousins.

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 702-387-2949.