Springfield Police Captain Brian Keenan being interviewed for the Holyoke Police Chief position.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
HOLYOKE — After a lengthy process, Springfield Police Captain Brian Keenan has been named as the next Holyoke police chief.
Keenan was interviewed by Mayor Joshua A. Garcia in a public session on Dec. 5 which concluded a competitive selection process facilitated by Public Safety Consultants, LLC.
Following the retirement of former Chief David Pratt in July, the mayor’s office launched a search for a successor. Garcia appointed a search committee, composed of city officials, community leaders and law enforcement personnel.
In late October, the search for a new chief was extended by two weeks after one of the two finalists for the position withdrew his candidacy, according to Garcia.
The extended application process closed on Nov. 11. Two candidates for the position were interviewed by the search committee, but neither one was put forward. That left the original finalist, the one who had not withdrawn, still in the running.
The position was advertised, and applications were invited. Resumes were collected and screened by the committee. The process included a public listening session and public surveys. Candidates were selected to receive essay questions. Those essays were collected and reviewed.
Those who made it past that round were invited for oral interviews by members of the committee. The next step was an assessment exercise. Only one candidate participated, as the other withdrew.
The final step is the public interview conducted by Garcia.
Keenan brings 27 years of experience from the Springfield Police Department with 14 years of command experience. His brothers were police officers as well.
After growing up in Boston, Keenan went to school at Westfield State College to study criminal justice. During his time in college, he got to experience a little bit of Holyoke.
He said, “When I got to Westfield State, that was my first experience when I came to Holyoke. I had the great experience attending the St. Patrick’s Day parade and I thought I was in South Boston. I found from meeting Holyoke people that they were identical to Boston people. They love their city.”
After graduation, Keenan got a job with former Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe where he worked three years as a corrections officer and “was one of the best experiences of my life,” he said.
Keenan also acknowledged many connections he has had to Holyoke throughout his life and career including his first law enforcement experience, his first mentor being from Holyoke.
Keenan also talked about potentially being an external hire to fill the police chief role.
He said, “I’m fairly certain that I’m the only guy from North Weymouth Massachusetts whose ever been a captain in the Springfield Police Department and a correction officer in the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department. I’ve been an outside guy my whole career and with coming to Holyoke, I’m an outside candidate but I’m a local guy. I’ve worked in conjunction with the Holyoke police on training issues. We’ve worked on lobbying issues at the State House, we’ve worked with them on several, several narcotic standing gun operations. I’ve made arrests in these streets, I’ve been in the doors and hallways of these streets, tactical operations in these streets. I’m attenuated enough and I’m objective and if I come to the Holyoke Police Department, there’s no goodboy network. You’ll be judged on your merit.”
Keenan also preached transparency, communication with all his officers to make sure the entire department is on the same page with solving problems in Holyoke.
Once the interview concluded after nearly an hour of discussion and questions, Garcia took a quick break to talk to Keenan privately and when everyone returned, he offered the position to Keenan.
When talking about the interview, Garcia said, “I don’t know about you, but I have been extremely blown away and very impressed by all of it. The process that got us here and I can tell you it was a really good process. I’m very proud of the Advisory Committee. I think [Keenan] did an incredible job, clearly [he’s] very experienced.”
Based on the city’s ordinances, there is a residency requirement for the position which means Keenan will have up to one year from his start date to call Holyoke home.
When asked if that would be an issue he said, “No, no I like Holyoke. I’m here all the time anyway.”
Although Keenan joked he was willing to start as soon as the day of the interview, Garcia said the start time is to be determined as he, the city solicitor and personnel director will conduct contract negotiations with Kennan.
