SALEM — Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll announced Thursday she has appointed veteran law enforcement officer Lucas Miller to be the city’s next police chief.
“I am pleased to welcome Det. Lt. Miller to Salem and to the Salem Police Department,” said Driscoll. “I am confident he will be a strong leader for the department. Policing in America has changed, even in just the past year, and we justifiably expect our law enforcement officers to approach their work with a commitment to equity. I’m confident Det. Lt. Miller will do just that.
“Det. Lt. Miller additionally has extensive command experience in large-scale events and with community policing, both of which are especially relevant here in Salem. I look forward to welcoming him to Salem and into this extremely important role in our community.”
The appointment marks a return to the Bay State for Miller, who started in policing with the Wellfleet Police Department in Massachusetts before transferring to the New York Police Department in 1991. He served with the NYPD for 33 years, including 16 years in supervisory capacities, and has been a detective lieutenant in that department since 2017.
He currently serves as a task force manager with the NYPD FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, where he oversees a staff of 33 and all of the administrative command functions of the unit.
In his three decades with NYPD, he has served as a detective squad commander in both the NYPD Detective Bureau and the Intelligence Bureau, as well as homicide supervisor, patrol supervisor, narcotics investigator, and community policing officer. He is also a counterterrorism instructor for the NYPD Police Academy.
“I am so pleased and proud to be named chief of police of Salem,” said Miller. “I want to thank Mayor Driscoll and members of the Salem community for their confidence in me and for the opportunity to lead one of the finest police departments in the Commonwealth. We are at a critical time in American law enforcement and our commitment to fairness and public safety must not waver.”
Miller will be sworn in as the Salem police chief at a ceremony later this spring. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, attendance at the swearing-in ceremony will be by invitation only. The event will be streamed live online and broadcast on Salem Access TV.
