Public input sought on qualifications for next police chief
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The resignation last year of now former Police Chief Tom Pasquarello has sent the city on yet another search for a replacement, and the public is being invited to weigh in on their concerns about the process.

By David R. Smith

A sparsely attended meeting at the East Somerville Community School last Wednesday was held to solicit comments from residents on what qualities and qualifications they would like to see in their next police chief.

Former Police Chief Tom Pasquarello, who was hired in 2010, resigned this past November to care for an ill family member. The chief before him, Anthony Holloway, left the job two years into a five-year contract to return to lead his hometown police department in Clearwater, Fla. Charles Femino has served as acting police chief since Pasquarello’s resignation took effect Dec. 1.

The city has hired the Waters Consulting Group, an executive recruitment firm, to assist with developing the criteria, placing the advertising and attracting a pool of candidates to present to the nine-member Police Chief Selection Committee. The city employed the company during the hiring process of the last two police chiefs.

After the city’s director of personnel, Bill Roche, outlined the process, the Waters Group’s Chuck Rohr was on hand to explain his company’s role.

“This is not my meeting,” he said. “This is your meeting. The goal here is to absorb what your thoughts are, your suggestions.”

In addition to the meeting, Rohr said he would be speaking the following day with representatives from 20 groups and organizations throughout the city representing a cross-section of residents to solicit their input. The collected community feedback will then be used to draft the brochure that will advertise the open position.

Ward 1 Alderman Matt McLaughlin said he would like a chief with a strong commitment to civil liberties and the concept of community policing. He added that he would also like the next chief to take a compassionate approach to substance abuse. And given the fact that the city is looking for its third chief in six years, McLaughlin noted one other quality he feels is critical to the position.

“I want a chief of police who is going to stay,” he said.

Although Rohr said the meeting was to discuss the qualifications for a new police chief and not the department as a whole, a few of the residents who spoke commented on what they would like changed overall, with one resident saying he would like to see a more relaxed approach to minor drug violations and another saying a new chief needs to address how many residents view the department.

“The kind of police chief we get has got to restore that sense of trust that is lacking,” the second resident, who did not identify himself, said.

That need for bridge building with residents was further evidenced by teenager Oscarline Leneus, who said the next chief needs “to recognize youth as a community.”

“We’re not all the same,” she said of people in her age group. “Some of us are good, some of us are bad.”

Speaking with the aid of one of the translators provided by the city, resident and East Somerville Community School PTA member Maria Salmeron said she would like a police chief who is fluent in Spanish. She added that she would like more laws and regulations printed in Spanish so the city’s Latino community can be better informed of –and therefore less likely to violate- those laws.

The search will be national in scope, as it has been in the past, and visits by Mayor Joseph Curtatone and other city officials to the communities of the finalists could take place, as it has in the past. While casting such a wide net could yield dozens of applicants, one resident felt the search should start closer to home.

“I’d prefer someone who lived in the city and who has protected the city,” she said.

The meeting March 5 was not the only chance for residents to weigh in. Surveys will soon be available online at the city’s website, and print versions will be available at the schools, police department, library and City Hall.

Rohr will present a first-round list of applicants to the committee. From there, the committee will narrow it down to three to five candidates who will take part in a public interview, with residents and community members invited to attend and submit written questions ahead of time. The mayor will make the final selection, likely by this coming fall, which will then be presented to the Board of Aldermen for approval.

Police Chief Selection Committee members

The Police Chief Selection Committee will be chaired by William Roche, director of personnel for the city of Somerville, and is made up of the following members:

• Alderman at Large John Connolly

• Sonja Darai, director of the Somerville Multicultural Affairs Commission (per city ordinance)

• Dorothy Kelly Gay, resident (BOA appointee)

• Adrianna Lafaille, resident (BOA appointee)

• Sassiane Estany, Teen Empowerment associate program coordinator (mayor appointee)

• Effrain Mendoza, resident (mayor appointee)

• Mike Kiely, Somerville Police Department, Somerville Police Patrolmen Association

• Dan Cotter, Somerville Police Department, Somerville Police Superior Officers’ Association