MARION — The Marion Police Department welcomed Taylor Souza as a full time police officer during a Select Board meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 15.

Souza, who graduated from the Massachusetts Police Training Committee Academy, will begin as a full-time police officer on Aug. 20.

Souza graduated from UMass Dartmouth in 2014 with a master’s of science degree in chemistry and received an American Institute of Chemists award, according to records from UMass Dartmouth. He went on to teach chemistry at Dartmouth High School before joining the New Bedford Police Department in January, 2022. 

“Officer Souza comes to us with valuable experience from New Bedford Police Department and we look forward to working with him,” wrote the Marion Police Department in a Facebook post.