HALIFAX – The embodiment of a true American dream story, Joao A. Chaves, an 11-year New Bedford police lieutenant with 31 years of policing experience in that city, was chosen by Selectmen unanimously from a pool of four highly qualified applicants to be Halifax’s next police chief, to replace retiring Chief Ted Broderick. He is expected to begin Nov. 13. As of press time, he has accepted the position, and the Town and he are negotiating his final contract details.

Born in Portugal, Chaves emigrated to France with his family as a child, where he attended elementary school. From there, his family again emigrated, this time to New Bedford, Mass. Chaves’s resumé indicates he’s bilingual (English/Portuguese) with a working knowledge of Spanish. At his public interview, last week, he indicated that his French was rusty.

Along with his considerable language skills, and fascinating personal story, Chaves has a lengthy educational background. He holds a master’s degree in law enforcement and administration as well as a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, both from Western New England University in Springfield.

In addition to these credentials, he has many professional-development training courses and certificates in everything from SWAT to hostage negotiation to hate crimes investigation.

Chaves said in his resumé he “has a passion for protecting the community in which [he] serve[s].”

In New Bedford, where he joined the force in 1987 as a police officer and worked his way up to lieutenant, he has been involved in the professional standards unit, the central records bureau, the community policing unit, the gang and traffic unit, the detective bureau, the tactical patrol force and the special reaction team.

Chaves described his management style as “open” and “progressive.” Although his experience with grant writing is limited, he has written grants, something the board values.

He spoke of firsthand experience with the opioid epidemic and also about how he has dealt with fellow officers who have addiction issues, as their supervisor. His approach has been to remove the problem employee from any danger to the public and work with him to get him help.

Selectmen Chairman Kim Roy asked him about his best quality and what he’d like to work on. Chaves replied that he is a good listener and that he genuinely cares, but that he’d like to work on his public speaking.

As a former public information officer, he is accustomed to speaking with the media, and was the only candidate who introduced himself to this Express reporter.

Selectman Tom Millias, who picked up a question often asked in interviews by Plympton Selectman Mark Russo, asked, “What frustrates you?”

Chaves said, “I love this job, still. But, the hoops we have to go through…the red tape…to get things accomplished [is frustrating.]”

As for legalized marijuana, Chaves seemed frustrated with the current laws (as did the board). “They’re making it difficult for us to do our job,” he said.

He ended by noting that his experience sets him apart from the other candidates.

No internal candidates applied for the position, which required at least a bachelor’s degree and five year’s experience. A contractor narrowed down all applicants, through a rigorous interview, practical exam/simulation and a background-checking process for the final candidates.

Selectmen asked all four finalists– the others were Wayland Police Detective Jamie T. Berger, Wrentham Police Sergeant Barry McGrath and MBTA Police Lieutenant David F. Albanese– roughly the same 17 questions, in order to be fair, according to Town Administrator Charlie Seelig.

One candidate, a fifth finalist, Lakeville Police Lieutenant Sean Joyce  withdrew his application.

The running themes of the Selectmen’s questions indicated that the board was interested in community policing, the opioid epidemic as well as alcohol and marijuana issues, and speeding on Halifax streets. The board asked how the next chief would fit in with the department, how he would keep the department well trained and what his vision for the Halifax Police Department was, which they repeatedly noted was working well.

While all the police chief candidates were extremely qualified, and according to Seelig, could all have been chosen as chief, their personalities were quite different, and it all came down to the right “fit,” as Millias said.

The first candidate, Berger, had much experience in community policing, and many ideas to bring community policing programs he was using in Wayland as a detective sergeant to Halifax. “I’m going to be a leader by example,” he said.

But, he had never personally written a grant. This appeared to trouble the board.

Wrentham Police Sergeant McGrath spoke easily during his public interview. “I’m a small-town police officer,” he said. “I love the community. I’d love to be chief.” He identified the three keys to being a police chief as leadership, trust and transparency.

The final candidate was the most loquacious of the four. MBTA Lieutenant Albanese, a retired colonel with the Army National Guard had an impressive resumé, but simply did not answer the questions he was being asked.

He largely directed his own interview, giving Selectmen little time to interject. “This is the pinnacle of my chosen profession,” he said, when asked why he wanted the position.

On paper, though, he had the most wide-ranging resumé.

The board ultimately selected Chaves Tuesday at their regularly scheduled meeting and they were visibly excited about the unanimous selection, which seemed to surprise them all.

A source confirmed that several Halifax police officers, some of whom had keenly attended the interviews, had expressed excitement with the choice. Roy said, “I’m thrilled we have selected Lieutenant Chaves as our next police chief and look forward to negotiating with him on behalf of the board.”

PLYMPTON – Scott Ridley, Plympton Highway Surveyor, was back before the Board of Selectmen Monday, Oct. 15, explaining new speed limits on several stretches of town roads and asking the board to reaffirm some rules at the transfer station.

As part of a grant from MassDOT, the state’s department of transportation, signage across Plympton is being updated at no cost to the town. But, the state is raising some speed limits as part of that process, upsetting some residents.

Ripley has been caught in the middle ever since explaining MassDOT policies.

He has previously stated that MassDOT (the state) sets speed limits, not the town. If a town wishes to change that speed limit, they have to do a speed study at their own expense, he says. The speed limit is set at a certain percentile of the speed that drivers are actually driving.

Ridley told selectmen that the Old Colony Planning Council, a regional planning agency, did such a speed study in July and August, at the far ends of Main Street. Ripley said he would find out if OCPC could do a study for all of Main Street.

Former Selectman Howard Randall was in attendance, and spoke at length about dealing with MassDOT, which he referred to under its old title “MassHighway.”

“MassHighway does what MassHighway does,” Randall said. “Where is the planning, where is the public input in all this? There is none.”

He also asked, “Where are the police? We’re not coordinating with them?”

This prompted Selectman Christine Joy to say that the board could talk to the police about stepping up enforcement of the posted speed limits. Later, the board directed Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy to speak with the police chief about the matter.

Selectman Mark Russo suggested that setting a “fundamental” speed limit, where the speed limit would be defined at 30 mph unless otherwise posted.

But even this default speed limit combined with increased enforcement and the speed study did not assuage Randall’s concerns.

“MassHighway could give a damn about Plympton’s rural character,” he said with frustration in his voice.

“This is not going to be a quick process,” said Ripley.

Ripley also was present to explain some rules that need to be better enforced at the transfer station, which he deferred to Art Morin, of the Board of Health, to explain.

“We need a few things reinforced,” Morin said.

He said that they wanted to make sure that each “dwelling unit,” as defined by the building code, be required to have a separate transfer station sticker, for the few apartments or two-family homes in the town.

He also noted that stickers must be permanently affixed to the rear window of the vehicle.

“Every now and then a vehicle from Halifax gets through,” he said, stating that some people tape them to their cars.

“Try getting into Duxbury with the sticker in the wrong spot,” he joked. “Not even a chance.”

The board affirmed Morin’s and Ripley’s requests.

In other news:

• Selectmen executed the contract of the selected fire chief, Stephen Silva. It is awaiting his signature.

• The board renewed the contract of Sgt. Stephen Teri. It is also awaiting his signature.

• The Plympton Fire Department’s surplus mini-pumper has been sold for $60,000.

Selectmen will next meet Monday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. i