The Somerville City Council Committee on Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters recommended confirmation of a slate of promotions within the Somerville Police Department on Monday, advancing candidates from sergeant through captain and a nomination for deputy chief. The committee moved each item by voice or roll call; each promotion was recommended unanimously and will be forwarded to the full Council for final confirmation.

Chief Benford introduced the candidates and described their service and duties. On the deputy chief nomination, Benford said the candidate had been serving in an acting capacity and had commanded the Criminal Investigations Division; he presented Richard Lavery (transcript variants: Labebe/Lavey/Lavery) as the nominee. Lavery told the committee, "I'm happy to be here. Excited for this opportunity." Chief Benford said the full slate represented more than 137 years of combined department service.

Committee members asked each candidate how they would pursue community policing, officer wellness, and supervisory duties. Candidates described outreach such as the Junior Police Academy and multilingual school tutorials, emphasized building trust after disruptive events, and discussed mentoring young officers and shifting from peer to supervisor roles. Chief and candidates repeatedly raised recruitment and retention as the department's principal challenge; candidates said the department is adapting hiring practices to attract younger, diverse candidates.

The committee also discussed process: Chair Yohan Kampen explained the practice of reviewing complaints or personnel records in executive session and said that, in several cases, he had reviewed candidate files with the chief outside the meeting. He noted that Massachusetts law restricts public discussion of personnel records in an open meeting.

The committee recorded votes in favor of each nomination (counts varied by item but were unanimous for those actions taken); the slate will be transmitted to the full City Council for final confirmation and any required administrative processing.