Burlington Police Chief Michael Kent Retiring At End Of June

BURLINGTON, MA — Burlington police Chief Michael Kent will retire at the end of June, the town administrator told the selectmen Monday.

Kent has headed the department since 2010 and will depart at the end of the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Town Administrator Paul Sagarino said he plans to appoint Deputy Chief Thomas Browne in Kent's place at the next Board of Selectmen meeting.

"I was able to take comfort in the fact that the town was able to do extensive succession planning within the department," Sagarino said.

The town created the deputy chief position six years ago, with the expectation that the new role would be filled by Kent's eventual successor. Browne was appointed deputy chief in 2018, Sagarino said.

"I can tell you that I'm even more impressed now with Tom than when we appointed him as the deputy," Sagarino said. "Tom Browne is the person to lead our police department into the future."

The selectmen and the town administrator praised both Kent and Browne.

The full meeting is available here from BCAT. BCAT News first reported this story.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.