SHUTESBURY — Sgt. Devon Pelletier, who has been the temporary police chief since July, will become Shutesbury’s permanent police chief.
Following interviews last week with both Pelletier and Ben Peters, a full-time police officer in Sunderland, the Selectboard voted unanimously to offer Pelletier the job, pending background checks and contract negotiations.
Pelletier, a police officer for six years, explained that he hopes to give the department long-term leadership.
“I want to add stability to the town of Shutesbury,” Pelletier said. “I believe some stability, some long-term stability of a police chief to stick around and stay with the department, [will] create a stable environment for officers and for the community.”
Following the hourlong interviews, the board met in executive session and then took a 3-0 vote to name Pelletier to the position.
“It was not an easy choice, but I feel like we’ve made the right choice,” said Selectboard member Rita Farrell.
The search for a new chief was launched after former Police Chief Kristin Burgess was placed on leave last May. Burgess was acting police chief starting in spring 2021 and became permanent chief in 2022. She succeeded Dan Fernandes, who spent 2½ years in the role.
Before Fernandes, Thomas Harding was the town’s police chief for the better part of 13 years.
The advertisement for the position stated that the police chief oversees two full-time officers and two part-time officers, with an annual budget of $283,000 and a salary range of $70,000 to $85,000, depending on qualifications.
Pelletier said he has crisis intervention training, sexual assault investigation knowledge and is a certified school resource officer, and that he understands the needs and wants of the rural community.
“I believe I’m uniquely qualified for it because I’ve been doing it the last six months,” Pelletier said.
Before his three-year stint on the force, he worked at American International College in Springfield for three years, where he served as an administrative police sergeant.
“I have the professional background for it,” Pelletier said.
Peters, who grew up in Amherst, explained that his first time working as a police officer was in Shutesbury, under Harding, and he continued police work, following academy training, with a job in New Salem before joining the Sunderland force. He has both specialized training as an FBI certified crisis and hostage negotiator, and a sexual assault investigator, and has helped run a fall public safety festival.
Peters and Pelletier were named as finalists by a review committee that included Selectboard representative Melissa Makepeace-O’Neil; Personnel Board representative Kathy Salvador; Council on Aging representative Mary Jo Johnson; Amherst Police Chief Gabriel Ting; John Hersey, a former Shutesbury police chief and part-time officer; Andrew Reagan, a member of the Fire Department; and Kelly Searcy, a law student at the University of Massachusetts. Town Administrator Hayley Bolton served as an ex officio member.