Nearly a year after the retirement of Police Chief Scott Livingstone, residents met and questioned two of the final candidates looking to replace him.
On Tuesday, the town held "meet and greet" sessions with Chelmsford Police Lieutenant Todd Ahern and the man who has been filling the police chief role in the interim, Amherst Police Captain Gabriel Ting.
Both candidates were advanced by the Police Chief Search Committee following a series of interviews.
The town also previously held listening sessions collecting community feedback on what the public wants in the new chief.
"My style would be helpful, service-based, respectful, right? Seeking input, not only from the people in the department, but from community members, right? I want you to be active participants in the way we deliver police services,” Ahern said.
Ahern answered questions during the first of the separate sessions Tuesday night. Both candidates had roughly an hour to introduce themselves and respond to attendees.
A 30-year veteran of the Chelmsford Police Department, Ahern is currently in charge of his department's Community Wellness and Outreach division.
Among the questions asked were how he would interact with the town's Community Responders for Equity, Safety & Service department, also known as CRESS.
Created in 2022, the mission of the unarmed public safety department meant to support the community is "rooted in trauma-informed and anti-racist frameworks."
"It's anti-racist, right? I would want to use all those words for the way I want my police services,” he said. “I want it to be equitable. Safety is our main concern. I want it to be service-based. I want it to be helpful. I want it to be respectful. But as far as anti-racism, it's a no-brainer."
Later in the session, Ahern noted he previously worked alongside college students and university police when the University of Massachusetts Lowell had a campus in Chelmsford.
However, he acknowledged the scale would differ dramatically in Amherst — home to UMass Amherst, Amherst College and Hampshire College — and that he would need to familiarize himself with the campuses.
Taking questions during the second session was interim police chief Ting.
Ting's resume includes 26 years with the Amherst Police Department. According to the town, he is also a certified instructor and has taught at various police academies.
During a lengthy introduction, the interim chief described his background, including being the child of parents who fled China for South America before eventually arriving in the United States. Ting was born in Buenos Aires.
When Ting joined the Amherst Police Department, he soon made it a lifelong goal to spend his career serving the town.
As the previous chief neared retirement, Ting was picked to serve as chief in the interim — work he reflected on during the session.
"The biggest thing that I've learned in this ten months, being the chief of police, is that I have to have big ears and a little mouth,” he said. “You know, I really need to be able to listen to the community and the community needs."
One issue brought up during the Q&A was an incident on July 5th, 2022— when two Amherst police officers confronted a group of youths, predominantly people of color, over a noise complaint.
The incident was video recorded, and featured an officer telling the youths at one point that they didn't have rights due to their ages.
"When all the young people were said to sit down, and then one of them said, 'you don't have any rights' - you heard about that whole thing - so where was your voice?" a member of the audience asked.
Ting initially answered in-part that, because he was not police chief at the time, it would not be responsible for him to give an answer because he was not privy to all the discussions and interactions the previous chief had.
However, when pressed by the next questioner, he had this to say.
"I learned a tremendous amount - something that you had said earlier, is something that I had heard from that particular incident, is that there is no accessibility to the police department. And that resonated with me,” Ting said. “So that's why I've always thought to myself, ‘Well, if I become the chief of police, I will have that ability to try and change that.’"
Later in the session, an individual representing the Amherst Police Supervisors Union read a statement endorsing Ting.
In a statement to WAMC, Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman says there are no set dates yet for when a candidate may be selected. He says he anticipates an appointment within the next month, with the town council making the final decision.
