Crime & Safety
Salem Capt. Dennis King Named New Marblehead Police Chief
The Marblehead Board of Selectmen appointed the former Salem acting chief pending medical clearance and contract agreement.
MARBLEHEAD, MA — Salem police captain and former acting chief Dennis King has been chosen to become the next chief of police in Marblehead.
Marblehead Town Administrator Jason Silva confirmed to Patch that the Marblehead Board of Selectmen chose King out of the two remaining finalists Wednesday night after Boston Housing Authority Chief Shumeane Benford withdrew his candidacy over the weekend.
Silva said the board interviewed King and Peabody Capt. Scott Richards and then unanimously voted to offer the job to King.
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Silva said the appointment is contingent on a physical, pre-employment requirements and contract agreement.
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."
Find out what's happening in Marbleheadfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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.
"The (Police Chief) Screening Committee narrowed down a very qualified pool of applicants to five candidates," Silva said. "Those five candidates went through an assessment center process, which then assisted the Committee in further reducing the number of candidates to three finalists."
Ryan Strategies Group was hired to assist in organizing and facilitating the assessment center.
The selection process included public meetings, a public forum and online survey.
King will replace Robert Picariello, who is retiring next month.
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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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