Haverhill Police Chief Candidates Discuss Leadership During Crises at Public Interviews

Lawrence Police Capt. and Executive Officer Maurice Aguiler, Haverhill Capt. Robert P. Pistone and Haverhill Deputy Police Chief Stephen J. Doherty Jr. (WHAV News photograph.)

Interview committee, from left, consultant Alan Gould, Mayor James J. Fiorentini, and Haverhill native and former Hampton, N.H., Police Chief William Wrenn. (WHAV News photograph.)

All three candidates for the job of Haverhill’s next police chief are in agreement a modern police department must better represent minority interests. One applicant, however, shared a contrasting vision of the chief’s role in making potentially contentious decisions.

The three finalists, in order of their public appearances Friday, were Lawrence Police Capt. and Executive Officer Maurice Aguiler, Haverhill Capt. Robert P. Pistone and Haverhill Deputy Police Chief Stephen J. Doherty Jr. WHAV asked how each would handle potentially controversial events such as last year’s Black Lives Matter march in Haverhill.

Both Pistone and Doherty outlined roles each played in the peaceful march during June 2020, following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. During that march, former Police Chief Alan R. DeNaro marched up front with the protesters.  Aguiler didn’t directly address whether he would follow in DeNaro’s footsteps. Instead, he said, some issues are “case-specific.”

“Some of the issues that a police chief may see are issues of which, I’ll be frank, the police chief has no business being involved in. What I mean by that is there are some issues that are better handled politically or by the community itself,” he said.

On the other hand, Pistone said he was in command of Haverhill Police’s involvement in the march from Trinity Stadium to GAR Park. He said he reached out to organizers far in advance.

“They knew we were with them—not against them, to be oversight, to work with them. It’s their right, their constitutional right. They want to express their views on it and we supported that, and it was peaceful,” he explained.

Doherty said he was also part of the leadership team marching with the protesters, calling it “a very peaceful event, very positive event.”

“A lot of people were unaware that it was all hands on deck for that event because we didn’t know what to expect. We had 30 to 40 police officers that were hidden out of sight to make sure it didn’t seem over-policed, but that we were ready and prepared in the event that something did kick off. We were ready to respond,” he noted.

All three addressed invited guests and an interview committee comprised of Mayor James J. Fiorentini, consultant Alan Gould and Haverhill native and former Hampton, N.H., Police Chief William Wrenn.

Roger Lemire, a member of Community Action’s board of directors asked different questions of each candidate. Aguiler agreed with the usefulness of foot patrols, but said satellite police might be cost-prohibitive. Pistone told Lemire he had no objection to a citizen oversight board reviewing police actions, saying “there’s no need to keep things like that behind closed doors any more. I think we should be transparent.” Doherty also acknowledged “transparency is vital” and police must “hold ourselves accountable, especially if there is wrongdoing.”

Comments are closed.