Arlington Makes It Official: Juliann Flaherty Named Police Chief

ARLINGTON, MA — Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine announced the appointment of Juliann Flaherty as Chief of Police Thursday. Flaherty has served as Acting Chief since Frederick Ryan's retirement in January 2019. She is the first woman appointed to the role.

"It is an incredible honor to be named Chief of Police in Arlington, where I have spent my entire career in public safety," Flaherty said in a statement. "I am ever-mindful of the tremendous reputation and standard set by the women and men of the Arlington Police Department, and I pledge to work tirelessly for all of our citizens every day."

The hiring process for Arlington's top cop included an assessment center, which was led by Badgequest, a consulting firm that specializes in police and fire recruitment. An assessment center is an intensive interview process with many components that simulate real world challenges typically encountered by a police chief. The panel that performed the evaluation was comprised of active and retired police chiefs.

In addition to the assessment center, the three internal candidates were interviewed by community stakeholders, including representatives from Arlington's Rainbow Commission, Human Rights Commission, Disability Commission, Diversity Task Group, Arlington Public Schools, and Arlington’s Coordinator of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, plus members from the recovery and immigrant communities. The community stakeholders asked each candidate a series of questions. The final interviews were conducted by a panel, which included Chapdelaine, Deputy Town Manager Sandy Pooler, Human Resources Director Caryn Malloy and Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes.

The recruitment process was recommended by the Town Manager to the Select Board and was approved by the Board in January of 2019. In the spring of 2019 Town Meeting voted to remove the police chief position from Civil Service. Removing the position from Civil Service allowed for the multi-layer process that included community stakeholders.

Flaherty has been with the Arlington Police Department for 25 years. Prior to becoming Acting Chief, she served eight years as captain of the department's Support Services and Logistics Division. Captain Flaherty also served as Acting Chief for two months in 2017. She has served as the Department’s liaison to the Rainbow Commission, Marijuana Study Committee, Surveillance Study Committee and was also the Department’s representative at Permanent Town Building Committee meetings during the renovation of Police Headquarters.

"I am pleased that Ms. Flaherty has accepted the appointment to be Arlington’s next Police Chief," Chapdelaine said in a statement. "She has served the Arlington community, and the department, under a philosophy of community policing that encourages procedural justice and citizen participation in solving problems of crime, fear of crime and quality of life issues. After a rigorous selection process, that included many community groups, and three excellent candidates, I have every confidence she will continue to lead the department and serve the community with distinction."