Marblehead Narrows Police Chief Field To 3 Finalists

MARBLEHEAD, MA —A Boston Housing Authority chief, former Acting Salem chief and Peabody captain are the three finalists to be the next Chief of Police in Marblehead.

The town said the three finalists to replace the retiring Robert Picariello are Boston's Shumeane Benford, Salem's Dennis King and Peabody's Scott Richards.

"I would like to thank the Police Chief Screening Committee for their work evaluating candidates for this incredibly important position," Marblehead Town Administrator Jason Silva said in announcing the finalists on Tuesday. "We are committed to conducting a thorough and transparent selection process that will result in the appointment of a police chief who will uphold the ideals of the department and continue to build on the positive work that has been done in recent years."

The three finalists will be interviewed by the Marblehead Board of Selectmen before an applicant will be chosen to fill the position.

Benford has been the Housing Authority chief in Boston since January and the Boston Chief of Emergency Management since 2018. He has led efforts to modernize the department by instituting reforms and improvements in community engagement, professionalism, efficiency, technology, service delivery, productivity and employee morale.

A 25-year veteran, he has also served as deputy chief of public safety for the Boston Public Health Commission. He has served with the Boston Police Department, Northeastern University Police and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. He is also a professor at Roxbury Community College.

King spent nine months as the acting chief in Salem where he assisted in the city's response to the coronavirus health crisis, was on the city's Race Equity Task Force and initiated a new civilian complaint procedure and an early warning system to detect "problem police officers."

A 25-year member of the Salem department, he has also been a correctional officer with the Essex County Sheriff's Department and a patrol officer at North Shore Community College.

Richards has been the special services captain in the Peabody Police Department since 2015 where he oversees the Traffic Division, Special Operations Division, Records Division and the Training/Accreditation Division.

Richareds has 25 years of law enforcement experience that includes serving as a corrections officer with the Essex County Sheriff's Department and as a patrolman in Groveland.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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