WESTFIELD- Det. Sgt. Scott Phelon was chosen to be promoted to lieutenant by the Police Commission Tuesday evening in a unanimous vote.
Phelon will officially be promoted to the position on Jan. 16. He was one of three sergeants in Westfield’s police department to be considered for the position. The other two candidates were Sgt. Douglas LaValley and Sgt. Michael Gibbons.
The three candidates were interviewed individually during the police commission meeting. During his interview, Phelon said that it was important for officers in leadership roles to empathise with members of the public and be as transparent as one can reasonably be.
“It’s important to put yourself in someone else’s shoes if they’ve been the victim of something,” said Phelon, “You need to give the public as much information as you can without compromising the investigation.”
The three-member commission was initially torn on which of the candidates to select after each gave their interviews. After input from captains Jerome Pitoniak and Michael McCabe, and Chief Lawrence Valliere, Phelon was unanimously selected.
McCabe noted that he will be retiring from his position as captain in April, meaning that there will be an additional chain of promotions in the near future.
