Retired Chief to Lead Group Reviewing Police Chief Candidates

The group of people that will provide Mayor Kimberley Driscoll feedback about the finalists to become Salem’s next police chief will be led by former chief Bob St. Pierre.

The makeup of the “community stakeholders group” was announced Tuesday by Driscoll. She said that the group will meet with the police chief finalists following a civil service assessment center and will provide feedback to the Driscoll, who will pick the next police chief.

The group will tell Driscoll “what they perceive to be each of the finalists’ strengths and weaknesses, and their ability to meet the unique challenges and issues that face Salem specifically.”

The police chief position is expected to go vacant because Chief Paul Tucker is running for state representative and the Democrat faces only a minimal challenge from a largely unknown Libertarian candidate, DAniel Morris.

The other members of the community stakeholder group will be former Essex County District Attorney and Massachusetts Public Safety Secretary Kevin Burke, City Solicitor Beth Rennard, Salem District Court Chief Probation Officer Dolores Gormley, Rinus Oosthoek of the Salem Chamber of Commerce, Salem resident and attorney Neil Chayet, former military police officer Jerry Smith from the board of the Salem Common Neighborhood Association,, Point Neighborhood Association president Lucy Corchado and the City Council President or his or her designee from the City Council. The group will also include to-be-named representatives from the Salem Police Superior Officers’ Union, the Salem Patrolmen’s Union and the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, who have all been invitated to be in the group.

“I am very excited to have this diverse group, who represent a broad variety of constituencies and perspectives in our community, volunteering to provide their insights around the selection of our next Police Chief,” Driscoll said in Tuesday’s written announcement. “Their collective expertise and dedication to our City makes me feel confident that they will help make this process more transparent and result in the selection of the best possible candidate to be our next Police Chief.”