Somerville Community Invited To Help Guide New Police Chief Search

SOMERVILLE, MA – Residents of Somerville will get a chance to “voice their goals, concerns, and expectations” at a public listening session Thursday as part of the City’s search for a new police chief.

Led by GovHR, an executive recruiting firm, the info session is the second of two public listening sessions first held in February by Mayor Katjana Ballantyne. The Thursday session will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

While the session will be hosted in English, community members can receive live interpretation in ASL, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian-Creole, Nepali, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

Residents looking to attend the event are encouraged to think about the experiences and priorities they are looking for in the next Somerville Police Chief, in order to “help ensure the GovHR search identifies candidates with the requisite qualifications and principles to lead the Somerville Police Department,” according to the City’s news release.

Charles Femino, the current Acting Chief of the Somerville Police Department, took over from Chief David Fallon in 2020 after Fallon retired.

As the Acting Chief, Femino will not be eligible to apply for the permanent Chief of Police position.

Somerville community members can register for the public listening session here or by calling 311 (dial 311 or 617-666-3311).