Salem Narrows Police Chief Search To 4 Finalists

SALEM, MA — Salem has narrowed the candidate field to be the city's next police chief to four finalists.

A North Andover lieutenant, Peabody captain, New York City terrorism task force manager and Seattle de-escalation trainer are on the list.

The state Human Resources Division certified the finalists following a recently completed assessment process.

The finalists will next meet with a community stakeholders group and with Mayor Kim Driscoll, who will make the final appointment from among the four.

Acting Police Chief Dennis King will chair the selection group.

Eric Foulds is a 32-year member of the North Andover Police Department. He is a lieutenant and commander of the Criminal Investigations Division. He also served as Operations Division Command with oversight over 32 officers and supervisors.

Foulds has experience in narcotics and criminal investigations, school safety, firearms training, officer training and evidence oversight. He helped create North Andover's emergency response planning and implementation, which was used in response to the Merrimack Valley natural gas disaster.

He graduated from the FBI National Academy and graduated first in his class from the Topsfield Police Department in 1989.

Lucas Miller is a 30-year member of the New York City Police Department and has been a detective lieutenant since 2017. He is the task force manager for the 33-member NYPD FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.

A FBI National Academy graduate, Miller started his career with the Welfleet Police Department before moving to New York in 1991. He was a detective squad commander in the NYPD Intelligence Bureau, a homicide supervisor, patrol supervisor, narcotics investigator and community policing officer. He also does counterterrorism training for the NYPD police academy.

Scott Richards is a 20-year member of the Peabody Police Department who is now a captain overseeing the traffic, special operations, records, details, K9 training and accreditation divisions.

He worked in homicide, narcotics, was a patrol supervisor, criminal investigations commander and traffic and special operations commander. He oversees the vehicle fleet, internal affairs and the Citizens Police Academy. He completed numerous training programs on executive and command leadership.

Mike Teeter is a Seattle police captain who oversees the education and training section of the 1,800-employee department. He serves on the Force Review Board and leads department training on de-escalation, implicit bias, procedural justice and other topics.

He worked on training standards and policy recommendations for de-escalation and use of force reduction for California and less-lethal force in Los Angeles. He trained in police and executive leadership, management and command.

The stakeholder group includes neighborhood association leaders, the business community, the city's Race Equity Task Force and others.

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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.)