Newly appointed Police Commissioner Richard A. Sypek. (Photo by Peter Currier)
WESTFIELD- Newly appointed Police Commissioner Richard A. Sypek participated in his first Police Commission meeting Nov. 12.
Sypek was selected by former-Mayor Brian P. Sullivan in the wake of longtime commissioner Karl Hupfer’s retirement. Sullivan said that Sypek was somebody who he had discussed other city appointments with in the past, but chose to move forward with this one because it seemed to be the perfect fit.
Sypek was confirmed by the City Council.
He is a Westfield resident and a graduate of Fairfield University in the class of 1980 when he received his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. He then went to the Western New England School of Law where he graduated in 1983 with a Juris Doctorate.
Sypek is now a principal at the law firm of Ross and Ross P.C. in Springfield where he has been working since 1991 after some time with the West Springfield law firm of Murray, Ftizgerald, Sabell, and Donahue.
Sypek is also a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Hampden County Bar Association. In 1983, after his graduation from the Western New England School of Law, he was admitted to the Massachusetts and United States Federal District Court.
Sullivan said that he chose Sypek as the next commission because of his law background and his familiarity of law enforcement by extension. He also has experience sitting on city boards and commissions, having been the chairman of the West Springfield Zoning Board of Appeals from 1988 to 1995, and as the vice chairman of St. Mary’s Parish Council from 2001 to 2006.
Sypek was also on the board of the Westfield Youth Hockey Association and the Amelia Park Children’s Museum Board.
Sullivan said that he thought of Sypek as having a “great drive” to work on the Police Commission.
