Wayland Select Board ratifies Lt. Patrick Swanick as new police chief

WAYLAND -- September 5, 2017, Wayland Select Board unanimously ratifies Lt. Patrick Swanick as new police chief. The 5-0 vote on Tuesday backed Town Administrator Nan Balmer's pick of the 27-year department veteran, pending a background check, physical and psychological exams and contract terms; Balmer said Swanick was the unanimous second choice of the internal review committee after a Belmont finalist did not advance. Swanick, who holds FBI National Academy training and has served a decade as second-in-command, endorsed adding Tasers to the department's less-lethal options, citing a 60 percent reduction in subject injuries and 20 to 30 percent in officer injuries, and said he was open to piloting restorative justice modeled on Lincoln's program. On internal politics he said officers will accept decisions "rooted in doing what's fair and what's right." The board also appointed Adam Gutzpizal to the Cultural Council and attorney James Grumbach to the Zoning Board of Appeals through June 30, 2018, and authorized Balmer to advance a stand-alone HR director job description ahead of John Senchyshyn's February retirement after 16 years.