Tewksbury Police Chief Finalist For Job In Florida

TEWKSBURY, MA — Timothy Sheehan, who has led the Tewksbury Police Department since being named chief in 2009, is one of four finalists to be the next police chief in Palm City, FL. Sheehan, 55, was selected from pool of more than 50 candidates and joins candidates from Texas and Kissimee, FL, as well as the acting Palm Bay police chief, as a finalist for the position.

Tewksbury Patch has asked Sheehan for comment and will update this story when we hear back from him. He and the other three candidates are scheduled to be interviewed Wednesday, with the top finalists after the interview session being invited to participate in a meet-and-greet with residents.

Sheehan, 55, has been with Tewksbury police since 1987. Sheehan has been credited with leading the department's response to the opioid epidemic since joining Lowell District Court's then newly opened drug court in 2014. As part of an effort to emphasize drug addiction treatment, the Tewksbury Police department now has two outreach officers, a prevention specialist, a recovery coach and a clinician.

Last month, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health gave Sheehan its Law Enforcement Exemplary Leadership Award, which "recognizes someone in law enforcement whose exceptional leadership has supported training, program and policy development that has had a broad impact in their law enforcement agency and/or broader community the individual serves."

"Chief Sheehan chose to pick up the mantle and devote his time to solving two of the major issues facing his community: addiction and mental illness. He realized there needed to be a pro-active response, and initially developed a team to focus on prevention and recovery," John Barber, LICSW, Western MA Area Forensic Director and Statewide Coordinator of CIT-TTAC Programs for the Department of Mental Health, said when presenting the award to Sheehan. "He brought together community resources, implemented officer follow ups for calls involving substance use disorder, and worked to ensure each officer was trained and carried emergency medical supplies like Narcan and the AED."