PEABODY — The police department’s citizens police academy had a special guest drop in for its 15th session Wednesday evening — Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker, a longtime police officer, who regaled those in attendance with stories from his policing career and an explanation of his new post.
Tucker took over as DA in January after Jonathan Blodgett, a resident of the city who filled the role for two decades, opted not to run for reelection last year. A former state representative and Salem police chief, Tucker won a contested primary against Attorney James O’Shea in September. On Wednesday night he joked he was on to his third career.
The citizens academy is organized by Capt. Scott Richards, who said the program has been a huge success. Indeed, residents packed in to see Tucker Wednesday, with nearly every seat in the room occupied by a resident.
One of the attendees, Dave Swindle, 56, said he signed up for the academy because he wanted to gain a better understanding of law enforcement.
A self-described “big supporter” of law enforcement, Swindle said the class has been informative and eye-opening thus far.
“It’s not disappointing at all,” he added.
In appearing Wednesday, Tucker continued a tradition started by Blodgett of speaking to the academy each year. In an interview, he said community engagement is among his priorities as he continues to settle into the DA post.
“A big part of what I’ve done is to reach out to the community, not only at this police academy,” he said. “It’s important to let people know what the DA’s office is doing, I did it as a Rep. and a police chief.”
“It helps people be more informed about what’s taking place,” Tucker added.
He also spoke highly of the academy itself, saying the Peabody program is similar to the one he oversaw next door in Salem. He pointed specifically to the educational value provided by the program, giving residents an inside look at what it is law enforcement officials like police officers and district attorneys actually do.
In a citizens academy, residents can “see the human side,” Tucker said.
“You get to see up-close the professionalism of these folks,” he added.
During the academy class Wednesday, Tucker walked attendees through his winding career path, which began as a campus police officer at Salem State University. From there, he made his way to Nashua, N.H., and eventually back to Salem.
“I took to it, I spent a lot of time on it, wanted to make sure I did a good job. And for better or worse, I think more lucky than good, I fell into some really interesting cases as a police officer,” he said, citing a pair of examples including a shoplifting arrest that spiraled into a kidnapping and indecent assault case following the discovery that the shoplifter had abducted a woman and was abusing two children.
At just 27, Tucker became a detective, which he called “the job of a lifetime.”
One story Tucker recalled that seemed to enrapture the entire audience was that of a string of armed robberies in Salem where the suspect would call to have a pizza delivered and then rob the delivery person. Tucker, at the time still a young detective, and his partner were called to a Domino’s Pizza in Salem after employees there recognized the man’s voice.
To secure the arrest, Tucker donned a Domino’s Pizza uniform and arrived at the suspect’s address, where sure enough he was set to be robbed before making the arrest.
Eventually, Tucker worked his way up to becoming a captain in the detectives’ division, before becoming chief.
Now, as a DA, he leans on his prior experience, particularly in regard to drug cases, where an understanding of which suspects need rehabilitation and which should be punished is a fine line.
“We’re doing more now in terms of understanding that a lot of people that have substance use issues (and) oftentimes it’s something that should be looked at,” he said, emphasizing the importance of “knowing the difference between someone who deserves a second chance and someone who needs to face consequences.”
