Braintree Town Council Confirms New Police Chief

BRAINTREE, MA — The Town Council has confirmed Mayor Joseph Sullivan's appointment of Mark Dubois as Braintree's next police chief. The unanimous vote came during Wednesday's council meeting. Dubois, who currently serves as Maynard's police chief, will replace Chief Paul Shastany, following his retirement.

Dubois' appointment came under fire from several Braintree police officers, residents, and candidates for town office. His credentials were never in question, but some in town believed in-house candidates should have been given greater consideration. Ultimately, the Town Council supported the appointment and believed the hiring process carried out by Sullivan was fair and that he made a good choice for the Braintree Police Department.

Dubois was chosen from a field of 28 candidates and was one of 10 interviewed by the town's selection committee. The selection committee chose three candidates to advance to interviews with Sullivan, but one of the candidates withdrew from the process.

Town Councilor and Mayor-elect Charles Kokoros told Patch the Town Council were aware of the selection process since July. He said he understand there may have been some disagreements because choosing a police chief is a big decision.

"I think as a councilor, I supported that, and in the end, I also supported it as a mayor-elect ...," Kokoros told Patch. "It's a big decision to make so you're always going to have disagreements on the decision you make. "I and the rest of the council was able to speak to him (Dubois) directly. I felt very confident he will be able to do the job."

Dubois served at the head of the Maynard Police Department for more than seven years while leading a staff of 35 officers. Prior to that, Dubois worked in the Shrewsbury Police Department as a patrol officer, patrol sergeant and lieutenant-operations division commander. He's also a major in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Dubois had told Patch he's excited for this new opportunity and believes he's joining an excellent police department.

"I have heard all positive thing about the officers and agency and having the opportunity to be part of that is exciting to me ...," Dubois said. "Chief Shastany has been successful and I look forward to continuing with the projects he started such as achieving state accreditation."

Sullivan in a statement said Dubois' leadership creating outreach programs helped Maynard police achieve full Massachusetts police accreditation.

"With approximately 28 years in law enforcement, Chief Dubois' qualifications speak for themselves," Sullivan said in a statement. "As a veteran, a lawyer and a current chief, he has the policing and leadership experience necessary to further the success of the department while best serving our officers and community in Braintree."