Chief’s hiring process removed from civil service
Next top cop to be appointed by mayor
By George P. Hassett

The next chief of the Somerville Police Department will be appointed by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone after making it to the final round of a new recruiting and hiring process. Curtatone announced Friday that the city‚Äôs November 2005 home rule petition on police chief hiring procedures has received final approval from the state.   

“This is a major step forward in achieving accountability and managerial excellence at the highest level of the police department,” said Curtatone in a statement.
With the law’s passage, Somerville joins nearly fifty other Massachusetts communities that have shifted from civil service rules to a professional recruitment model in the hiring of their top police commanders.
  Patrolmen‚Äôs Union President Jack Leutcher was a vocal opponent of the move and still is.
  ‚ÄúIt is in the best interest of the people of the city to maintain checks and balances. A chief appointed by the mayor must do what the mayor tells him to do,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúWe have an acting chief now who, when Joe says jump, asks ‚Äòhow high?‚Äô‚Äù
  Acting Chief of Police Robert R. Bradley is widely believed to be Curtatone‚Äôs personal choice for the job. In fact, in a Sept. 2005 interview with the Somerville News, Curtatone said if the position is removed from civil service, Bradley would be his pick.
  ‚ÄúHe’ll be my first choice based on his capabilities,‚Äù he said at the time.
   Curtatone said removing the chief‚Äôs job from the civil service process is the beginning of his reorganization of the department. Other reforms include investment in updated training, equipment and vehicles, and the implementation of a staffing plan designed to increase the number of officers on the street by taking fully-trained officers out of full-time clerical assignments and putting back in frontline enforcement roles. 
     Curtatone said he wants to have the permanent chief in place by the end of the calendar year.