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Boston Globe

New Bedford names outsider as police chief amid scrutiny of its past practices

Mitchell said Thody's leadership style emphasizes accountability and transparency. 'It is essential that the NBPD sustain the improvements it has made in recent years,' Mitchell said, 'and Chief Thody is particularly well-suited to make that happen and to fortify the public's trust and confidence in its police.' The move comes in the wake of a Globe Spotlight Team investigation, ' Advertisement The Spotlight series and podcast, In the wake of the reports, the mayor asked the FBI to review the Globe's findings. The city also hired 21st Century Policing Solutions, a firm that specializes in law enforcement training, to examine the department's use of informants, as well as its internal affairs process. Advertisement City officials have declined to share details of that contract. A final report from the firm, including reform recommendations, is expected to be provided to the city later this summer. Thody will be officially sworn in once the terms of his contract have been finalized, Mitchell said. New Bedford assistant deputy chief Derek Belong is serving as acting chief in the interim. 'I promise to listen, engage, and bring relentless attention to the things that matter most to the people of New Bedford,' Thody said Tuesday at an introductory press conference. 'We may face challenges, we may face mistakes, but we will be open and honest about how we deal with those mistakes.' Thody's selection, which was guided by a nine-member search committee, came as a surprise to many in the department. New Bedford police union president Lorenzo Gonzalez said he learned of Thody's selection only during a Tuesday press conference to announce the appointment. Gonzalez called the lack of communication with the union 'disappointing.' 'We would've liked to do our homework on the matter just to see, 'Hey, who are the finalists, what are they about, what's their backstory, their history?'' said Gonzalez. 'Unfortunately, we were kind of kept in the land of rumors.' The decision to look outside for a new leader is typically indicative of a city's desire for fresh perspective to change the culture, said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Police Executive Research Forum. Advertisement 'A new chief comes in knowing that there is a series of documented problems and there is a mandate to fix them,' Wexler told the Globe. 'Anyone coming into that department knows they are coming in to make changes, but [they] still want to make changes in a way that the organization feels like they are part of it.' The last outsider to serve as New Bedford police chief was Arthur J. Kelly III, who also learned how to be a cop in Hartford, where he rose through the police department ranks. Unlike Thody, Kelly served as chief for four other police departments – from Sanford, Maine, to St. Joseph, Missouri – before Police departments are insular organizations, Kelly said, and New Bedford is more provincial than most. 'If this is the first city you're going to, that makes your learning curve exceedingly sharp,' Kelly said Wednesday. 'You know that you're being viewed as an outsider because you are.' Thody began his career in Hartford as a patrol cadet in 1996. Through the years, he served as commander of the crime scene division, supervisor of the emergency response team, and commander of accreditation. He also worked as the department's 'special advocate,' a position responsible for prosecuting major cases of police misconduct, according to a city press release. His tenure in Hartford was marked by several controversies. A 2010 internal affairs investigation found that Thody, who was then a lieutenant, was the aggressor in a fight outside a bar while off-duty, according to a Advertisement An internal investigator recommended two internal charges against Thody for conduct unbecoming an officer, as well as a separate count of making a false report or record, the Courant reported. In 2020, shortly after being named chief, Thody was disciplined after he struck a guardrail while driving a department-issued vehicle, resulting in more than $3,000 in damage. Thody told investigators he was driving distractedly at the time of the crash after spending the afternoon at a local marina. According to 'He's going like a bat out of hell,' the caller told dispatchers, according to a recording of the call published by the Courant. 'I watched him bounce off the guardrail at about 60 miles an hour.' Two Hartford City Council members called for Thody's firing because they argued there were several discrepancies in his account of the crash, the Hartford Courant Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin backed Thody at the time, saying the incident didn't rise to the level of suspension or Thody's removal as chief. He also said Thody had failed to follow city policy regarding take-home vehicles and also made inadequate efforts to report the incident. Like Oliveira in New Bedford, Thody was also the subject of a no-confidence vote by the Hartford police union during his tenure as chief. Thody retired from his previous post in March of 2024, saying he hoped to spend more time with family and pursue a healthier lifestyle. He said at the time he had no plans to run another police department. Advertisement Dugan Arnett can be reached at