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Chelsea City swears in a new lieutenant and six officers after recent shootings
Summary
At a Chelsea City ceremony, a newly promoted lieutenant and six officers were sworn in as the police chief recapped recent violent incidents, saying officers recovered three firearms and made four arrests. The chief highlighted recruitment, training timelines and thanked the council and city manager for support.
Chelsea City held a swearing-in ceremony where Lieutenant John Noftal and six new police officers were formally sworn in, the council was told. The police chief (name not specified in the transcript) opened the event by praising the officers and recounting recent responses in which the department recovered three firearms and made four arrests.
The chief told the council and assembled guests that an officer had been seriously injured earlier in a volatile incident involving a person in apparent mental-health crisis, and that within an hour officers had responded to two separate shootings. "We recovered 3 firearms, made 4 arrests," the chief said, praising officers who chased armed suspects through alleys and backyards and acted despite risks to their own safety.
The ceremony also included the promotion of John Noftal to lieutenant. The chief described Noftal as a longtime department member who handled a range of duties — from traffic and parking to managing details — and said he would serve as a supervisor for younger officers. Sergeant David Delaney, who had been announced as newly appointed sergeant, did not attend the ceremony because his wife gave birth Sunday; the chief noted Delaney was granted a pass and would be sworn in at a later date.
Six officers were introduced and called forward for the oath: Alex Cabassa; Marcus Atkins, who transferred from Lynn Police (and whose father, retired Chelsea Police Sergeant James Atkins, was named as his badge-pinner); Oscar Lopez; Darian Lavino; Sumi Oruitya; and Christopher Marroquin. The chief invited family members and friends to pin badges after the oath, naming relatives such as Jennifer and Jamie for the lieutenant, and others for each new officer.
Describing the department's training timeline, the chief said it takes about a year for a recruit to reach full solo duty: roughly two months of pre-academy training, six months in the academy and about three months of field training. The chief framed the new cohort and promotion as steps toward a younger, more diverse force and thanked the city manager and the city council for their support.
The presiding officer adjourned the meeting after the ceremonial items concluded.
