Marion police chief receives national public safety award

MARION — Police Chief Richard Nighelli recently received a Public Safety Leadership Award for his work with Plymouth County Outreach, an organization of police departments working to reduce overdose deaths. 

He received the award at the national Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative's 10th annual awards ceremony on Oct. 21. 

Nighelli began at the Plymouth County Outreach as an outreach officer and advanced throughout his career to join the group’s executive board. He also serves on the initiative’s public safety council. 

The outreach works to make treatment, resources, and harm reduction tools more accessible to people who use drugs and their loved ones and provide compassionate, judgment-free support while reducing overdose fatalities, according to its website.