WARREN— Even though he fails to meet a key education requirement, Sgt. Joseph R. LaFlower has applied to be police chief here.
The Board of Selectmen invited him to apply, the sergeant said yesterday.
“They advised me that they had decided to go with a person ...with a bachelor’s degree,” Sgt. LaFlower, who is not a college graduate, said. But “they did say, because I had 27 years’ experience in law enforcement, 21 of them with the town of Warren, that that merits consideration, also.”
For the past several weeks, Sgt. LaFlower, 54, has been commanding the 13-member department in place of former Chief Glenn F. McKiel, who resigned to become police chief in Manchester-By-The-Sea, which is north of Boston. The department here is allotted seven full-time positions, including the chief, plus six part-time officers.
“I thought about not applying, to tell you the truth,” Sgt. LaFlower added, “but they sent me the letter ... and I was a bit surprised.”
Weeks ago, the sergeant told selectmen that he felt a little slighted that the board did not ask him if he wanted to run the department, even on an interim basis.
As it turned out, selectmen, without explanation, chose not to name Sgt. LaFlower as interim chief, but placed him in charge of the department in his present capacity as sergeant.
Sgt. LaFlower said he meets all the other criteria set by selectmen for the chief’s post, but he has only a high school diploma. He has taken a variety of law enforcement courses.
“I have considered a college education,” he said, “but the problem I have is sitting in these classroom environments ... I’d be arguing with professors all day long.”
He said his experience in the field as a police officer and sergeant, especially in a small town like Warren, most likely would conflict with applications recommended in college.
Sgt. LaFlower said he really wants to be chief here.
“I want to take the department to a new level. I want to get the department more people oriented, more geared toward the people in the town who come to the Police Department with specific problems and want to try to get them solved.”
Without being critical of past chiefs, Sgt. LaFlower said he wants a department that allows the public to feel comfortable talking with the police chief, no matter what the situation is.
“I want an open-door policy,” he said.
A five-member Police Search Committee is working on finding one or more candidates to recommend to selectmen.
Chief McKiel’s final salary in Warren was about $82,000. Selectmen advertised the salary for his successor as “negotiable,” based on experience and education.
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops
About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.
The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.
The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.
MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops