Letter to the Editor,

I am writing in response to the letter submitted by Eileen Marum dated May 18. My initial thought after reading the letter was to not respond at all. In light of recent events, I realize that I made a mistake. There is some misinformation contained within the letter that I feel needs to be corrected. First, the position of Lieutenant was created to have an administrator who was not in the union to assist the Chief with managerial tasks and decisions. The Lieutenant has many other responsibilities other than being the accreditation manager. As far as accreditation itself, I feel strongly that it is necessary to maintain a professional police department.

As part of the process to become accredited, the police department must have rules, regulations, policies, procedures and certain equipment to meet the mandatory 257 standards and a minimum of 69 from an additional list of 125 optional standards. Once the department has all of the policies written, the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission will send a team of trained assessors to comb through the department’s policies to ensure compliance with the required and optional standards. There is also a physical inspection of the station, cruisers and equipment. Yes there is some expense involved but it is hardly a “money pit in overtime.” Why is it done? It is done to ensure that the department does not have any outdated policies or tactics, such as using a chokehold. The assessment also examines training records and equipment. It means that the agency has agreed to adopt program standards as a way of doing business and those standards are considered best practices, administratively and operationally.

The second item I would like to address is that I believe, without question, that the Selectmen selected the best qualified person as the next Chief of Police. Over the last several years, Lt. Nighelli has attended multiple police executive courses to enhance his management skills and prepare him for the future. Lt. Nighelli has proven that he has been capable of managing the department anytime I have been away. He is the best candidate for the position. I only wish Ms. Marum had reached out to me or the Lieutenant to ask questions prior to publicly questioning Lt. Nighelli’s abilities before he even has a chance to prove himself in the position.

John B. Garcia
Chief of Police
Marion Police Department