‘Very good candidate’ to lead Rochester Police Department

ROCHESTER — A Mashpee detective sergeant with 23 years of law enforcement experience will become the new head of the Rochester Police Department, after a round of interviews held Monday, July 22.

Following interviews with three finalists, the Rochester Select Board offered the police chief role to Michael Assad Jr. of the Mashpee Police Department.

The Select Board also interviewed Bourne Police Department Lieutenant John Stowe Jr. and Lakeville Police Department Captain Sean Joyce.

Select Board Member Adam Murphy said Assad was a “very good candidate for the town of Rochester” and “very personable.”

“Great eye contact,” Murphy said. “Good communicator. Very community-oriented.”

Assad will take the helm of Rochester’s police department from Donald Kemmett, who has served as interim police chief since April. The former police chief, Robert Small, announced his retirement in March.

Assad said he’s “always wanted to help people.”

“That’s always been my passion,” he said.

Assad also said he has a “transformational style of leadership.”

“It’s important for the next chief of Rochester to be involved every day, to know the pulse of what’s going on in the police department and the pulse of what’s going on in the town of Rochester,” Assad said.

A police chief “needs to work well with everybody,” Assad said.

“Communication needs to be the key to be able to make the police department succeed,” he said. “The police department succeeds; the town succeeds.”

Assad said he responded to the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013 as a SWAT operator, and he is now a crisis negotiator for the Cape Cod SWAT team.

His training, education and experience throughout the years has brought Assad to the point where he can “effectively lead the town of Rochester as the next police chief,” he said.

“I know that the Select Board and the citizens of Rochester would be proud of me as the chief if I’m given that opportunity,” he said.

Assad’s “passion” is his family, his wife and two kids, he said.

Assad said another passion is volunteering with veterans assistance organization Heroes in Transition, and the Quell Foundation, a mental health and wellness organization.

Assad also said he still has the “pulse of road patrol.”

“If you’re looking for a chief that’s going to sit behind a desk and be never seen, in paperwork, that’s not me,” he said. “I’m going to be out there with the men and women, backing them up, trying to guide them.”

Murphy said Assad’s “ability to understand the patrol” caught his attention.

“He’s still boots on the ground,” Murphy said.

Following Assad’s interview, the Select Board also interviewed John Stowe Jr., a lieutenant for the Bourne Police Department, and Sean Joyce, a captain for the Lakeville Police Department.

After interviewing the three finalists, Rochester Select Board members Paul Ciaburri, Bradford Morse, and Murphy unanimously moved to offer Assad the police chief position.

“I thought he did excellent,” Morse said.

Assad’s hiring is contingent on a background check, medical and psychological evaluations and successful contract negotiations.