SWAMPSCOTT — Toward the end of the Select Board meeting on the evening of Jan. 8, Police Chief Ruben Quesada came before the board to discuss updates with the department, regarding possible changes going forward.
He noted that in the police department’s current state of affairs, it has three vacancies and two roles that are considered “acting-positions.”
“Our most recent vacancy is Officer Johan Pena, who just left last month to work for the Winthrop Police in his hometown,” Quesada said. He noted in his presentation for the board that he had included potential retirement dates for several officers, though Quesada said that those may not be the final dates of retirement.
“The first one we’re looking at is Lieutenant Bill Waters, who has 32 years of service this year,” he said. He continued that Lieutenant Thomas Hennessy will have about 30 years of service along with time served at other police stations, and the initial date of retirement was set for July 2026. Also, in 2026, Captain Joseph Cable will have approximately 26 years of service.
Officer John Cassidy Jr. is currently on military leave, “which is creating a little bit of strain on our department in terms of staffing with these three vacancies,” Quesada said.
Quesada also touched upon the debate of civil service versus non-civil service regarding the department’s hiring process, where he elaborated on his position on the matter.
He highlighted how non-civil service allows flexibility in the hiring process, allowing aggressive timelines to hire the best possible candidate without the bureaucracy of civil service timelines. It also eliminated the residency requirement, which created greater outreach and inclusion to candidates throughout the state.
“All I know is non-civil service,” Quesada said. “I grew up in a police agency that did not have civil service.” He cited one of the department’s benefits for not being civil service is their ability to outreach. “Anybody can apply, anyone in the state.” He said the department has officers that have come from all different parts of the state. “That’s a huge benefit to us,” he said.
Quesada noted that for filling the vacancies he mentioned, the department has already started vetting potential candidates.
“Since we’ve left civil-service, we’ve had a variety of candidates continuously come to apply for our department,” Officer Kevin Reen said. “Many of the people in this industry wanting to become police officers know we’re no longer civil-service, so their inquiries have been consistent.” He noted the department has been building a rolodex of the applications coming in.
“We’ve only gotten better at what we’ve done in the past, so moving forward, obtaining candidates to bring them in is going to be efficient, effective and smooth,” Reen said.
