New Easthampton Police Chief Chad Alexander.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
EASTHAMPTON — Chad Alexander, lifelong Easthampton resident and officer on the Police Department for over 20 years, has been selected to become the city’s next chief of police.
The appointment follows a rigorous and transparent hiring process conducted by Public Safety Consultants, a respected firm specializing in public safety recruitment.
In a commitment to openness and community trust, the city decided against an internal search and instead brought in Public Safety Consultants to manage the recruitment and assessment process. Following the comprehensive review of all applicants, Alexander advanced to the final assessment center and was selected as one of the top two candidates.
“I’m really excited to keep pursuing my career here in Easthampton,” Alexander told Reminder Publishing of his initial reaction to the opportunity.
Alexander has served the Easthampton Police Department since he was first hired at 18, eventually being grandfathered into the role when the state minimum age changed to 21 about a year later. Alexander has been credited for consistently demonstrating leadership, his dedication to public service and for having a strong commitment to building community relationships.
“I am very excited for the opportunity to lead the department that I have been a part of my entire adult life, and continue to serve the residents of Easthampton,” said Alexander. “Numerous people and officers have molded me into the person and police officer I am, and I will be forever grateful. This is an exciting time for me, my family and my Easthampton Police Department family.”
The next steps include contract negotiations and the formal appointment process with the Easthampton City Council. Upon completion, Alexander will officially assume the role of chief of police.
Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle credited Alexander’s readiness to take on the role.
“Chad Alexander’s deep roots in Easthampton and long-standing commitment to public safety make him the right leader at the right time,” LaChapelle said. “His integrity, compassion and professionalism stood out throughout the process. I am confident that under his leadership, the department will continue to evolve and strengthen its relationship with the community.”
Alexander said he is happy and fortunate to be able to work for the city he has always called home, and credited the community for its values and efforts to grow the city over the years.
“As far as the community itself, we’re very progressive. The town’s changed so much, I mean it was a town up until the mid-’90s and grew into a city. And now, it’s vibrant with a great downtown cultural district and we have a ton of visitors to the town for various reasons — arts restaurants, all that,” Alexander said.
Alexander added his favorite part about being able to be an officer in his lifelong community is the connection he has and can make with the residents he serves.
“A lot of people wonder and think it may be tough working in your hometown, or what if you have to deal with someone you grew up with, but honestly, I love the fact that I can walk downtown or walk in and get a coffee somewhere and everybody knows my name,” Alexander explained. “Everybody says, ‘hey Chad,’ it’s not like, ‘good morning officer,’ or ‘hello sir,’ everybody knows me as Chad and that’s how I want it to stay and I love just being part of the community.”
Looking ahead at his tenure, Alexander said he has three primary goals he will prioritize through his work. The first issue in front of Alexander’s mind is traffic and pedestrian safety. Alexander explained with downtown being the city’s hub for visitors and residents, pedestrian traffic safety is a given priority for his department.
“I’ll be looking to put in a full-time traffic officer. It wouldn’t be an additional position, there’s no money in the budget for that. It’d be restructuring our beats and figure out a way to put an officer permanently in the role to solely field any complaints from residents and just be proactive with traffic related incidents only,” Alexander explained.
Another priority for Alexander as chief is to continue community policing and to continue growing the relationship between officers and residents. Alexander was involved in the formation of the department’s “Coffee with a Cop” meet and greets, which led to the fundraiser “Cookout with a Cop” as well as other community events featuring the police.
Alexander and his wife also created a fundraiser called “Lids for Kids” where they raised money to give out hats and gloves to children who needed them during the winter. He said it is important for him and the department to be present with events like these in the community.
The third goal and priority of Alexander is getting the Easthampton Police Department certification and accreditation through the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission.
“It’s a pretty intense and tedious process, but achieving it separates your police department from other departments just showing that we excel in every area of our department,” said Alexander. “There [are] many standards that have to be met. It’s long and strenuous from everyone I’ve talked to, but it’s worth it in the end.”
Alexander said he is looking forward to completing the final steps of the selection process before officially taking over as chief and is looking forward to carrying out his plans to uphold and better the standard of the department.
“We have such a great department. We’re a close-knit family,” said Alexander. “We do a great job, every officer from our most senior officer right down to our newest officer, everybody shows up and gives 100% every single day so we just want to keep that, keep giving to the community, and keep our residents and our visitors safe and happy to have us as their police department.”
