Home News Crime & Punishment Brookline Police Chief Dan O’Leary To Retire After 40 Years

Brookline Police Chief Dan O’Leary To Retire After 40 Years

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Chief Daniel O'Leary
Chief Daniel O'Leary

Brookline Police Chief Daniel O’Leary announced he will be retiring next month from the Brookline Police department after 40 years serving the town as a police officer, nearly 23 of those as the chief of police.

His last day will be January 19, 2018, he said in a letter posted to the town website. No word yet on who will replace O’Leary.

“It is time to start the next chapter of my life. I have been incredibly honored to have served the residents of Brookline for four decades,” he wrote.

He cited a reduction in crime, increased safety and stressing de-escalation communication techniques when dealing with situations that might call for use of force in Brookline as among his achievements.

“We achieved status as an accredited police agency, experienced a 60% reduction in crime, improved our process for promotions including selection methods for top Command Staff, were honored by the IACP with their 2007 Civil Rights award, upgraded our facility and expanded our use of technology. We have been ahead of the many changes and best practices in community policing. We have also formed a team of officers who will assist and support our members in times of great stress and/or tragedy. Furthermore, we took on the added responsibilities that resulted from the horrific attacks on September 11, 2001, we have provided twenty years of statistics to our community concerning our interactions and we continue to hire quality people to represent us and who reflect the diversity of Brookline. … We have taken the lead in changing the way we deal with those who suffer from some form of mental illness.”

He praised his fellow officers and staff members at the police department and thanked residents for their support over the years.

“As a Police Department, we never would have been able to accomplish all that we have without everyone mentioned above working together to make Brookline a great place to live, work and visit,” he wrote.