PEABODY — It was a banner day for the Peabody Police Department on Thursday as two new police officers were sworn into duty and three others were sworn into new positions at the Higgins Middle School.
Doug Marcus was sworn in as a new captain, while Javier Sanchez and Taryn Brotherton were sworn in as sergeants. Joseph Lavoie and Vincent Doucette were sworn in as new officers.
“It’s a big day for our officers today and such well deserved recognition for the hard work and dedication they have all put in to make this happen,” said Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt. “As a son of a police officer I like to talk about this and how it means a great deal to me that men and women take the call to be police officers.
“Right now police officers are under even more scrutiny and pressure than ever before. I am grateful and thankful that we have men and women willing to step up on behalf of this city, this community and this nation to be there in times of trouble.”
Department Chief Thomas Griffin said he was excited about the department’s future.
“It’s outstanding for the department as we have some really great candidates that are going to get promoted up in the ranks. They are bright futures in the police department,” said Chief Griffin. “We also have two new officers who have already distinguished themselves as police officers, so we are really excited about what the future is going to bring.”
Marcus, who was also celebrating his birthday, began his career in 1996 as a department dispatcher. He has been with the department for 24 years, the first four as dispatcher and the last 20 as a full-time officer.
“I’m proud and excited and very proud to be a Peabody police officer and to be a captain of this department, such a great department that does a lot of good things every day,” Marcus said. “I’m looking forward to the future of our department as we have two new sergeants and two new police officers who have a lot of talent, so I’m very excited about that.”
Bettencourt said Marcus has worked his way through the ranks and, “has worked extremely hard and has established himself as an excellent leader within the department. Again, he deserves this well-earned promotion.”
Brotherton has been with the department since 2014, the last couple in the detectives’ office. Before that, she was an Ipswich police officer from 2009-2014 and also worked in the Essex County’s Sheriff’s Department as a corrections officer from 2004-2009.
Brotherton joins Stephanie Lane as the only two female sergeants in the department.
“I look forward to being a leader for this department. I’ve been in Peabody for almost six and a half years and have worked with some great supervisors and want to be like them and become the best supervisor I can be,” Brotherton said.
Sanchez is a military veteran who served two tours of duty overseas in the Marines and also worked as a military officer. He has been an officer in Peabody for 13 years. After thanking his family, he thanked “this group of guys.
“If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here, thank you guys and I can’t wait to begin my new journey,” he said.
Bettencourt said he was thrilled with the addition of Lavoie and Doucette and the three officers who moved up the ranks.
“They are all quality people and I think they are going to do great for our department,” he said. “We now have two female sergeants and might have a few more coming as we have some excellent officers who are on patrol right now.”
Griffin said Sanchez and Brotherton’s roles have yet to be determined.
“We have two open positions they will fill and are going to figure that out this week,” he said. “One will be a street sergeant in the patrol division and the other will be working in an administrative role with our accreditation team because we are moving toward accreditation,” adding that Marcus will be in charge of records, including Freedom of Information requests, and any issues relating to building maintenance.
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
