New police chief could be outsider

As Quincy Police Chief Robert F. Crowley prepares for his recently announced retirement, Mayor Thomas P. Koch is considering whether to go outside the 200-officer department for Crowley's replacement.

"Everything's on the table," said Koch. If he hires from within, he can choose from the three captains who scored highest on the civil service exam for chief. The three are Allan Gillan, 48; Paul Keenan, 49; and Michael Miller, 44.

However, the process gets more complicated if he chooses to bypass civil service and look outside the department. In that case, the City Council might play a role, said Koch, who said the legal options are being checked.

A complicating factor for Koch is that one of the candidates - Keenan - is his brother-in-law. His office has contacted the state Ethics Commission about the matter, he said.

Crowley announced his retirement this month - a year earlier than many expected - and did not offer specific reasons. But he said it had nothing to do with his bitter dispute with the patrolmen's union.

"I've been contemplating this for quite a while and I think it is the appropriate time to move on," said Crowley, who will step down on June 30. He said he did not receive a buyout.

Crowley, who has been criticized for some of his disciplinary measures against officers, said the attacks were unfair.

"I've been called heavy-handed," he said. "But if people saw the overall picture of me and my staff, they would realize we aren't heavy-handed. We try to treat everyone fairly."

Crowley has been battling with Bruce D. Tait, president of the Quincy Police Patrol Officers' Association, for several years. The fighting intensified as Koch was taking office in January, with Crowley accusing Tait of encouraging officers not to write traffic tickets. Tait denied the charge.

Traffic tickets for warnings, civil infractions, and criminal citations written by officers dropped nearly 40 percent between 2006 and 2007. Tickets for civil citations, in which a fine is paid, dropped about 35 percent, and arrests fell 18 percent. Tait said that in 2006 he did encourage union members to boycott writing tickets for one month, but said that was long past.

Tait said the reason officers were not writing tickets is they were afraid the chief would retaliate against them if a citizen filed a complaint about it. The chief denied the allegation.

Tait repeatedly attacked Crowley in his blog, calling him "CLK," for "Cowardly Lion King." He said Crowley had unfairly targeted officers on a number of occasions.

Koch asked both sides to cease their sniping.

Crowley said the hardest job about being chief is taking a firm stand. "You can't let other influences interfere with what is best for the city and department," he said, declining to discuss what those influences were.

Crowley, 61, began his career with the Boston Police Department. In 1970, he attended the police academy with William Bratton, the former Boston police commissioner, who currently holds the same job in Los Angeles. Crowley has been on the Quincy force since 1972 and chief for the past four years.

He said the best thing about being Quincy police chief is "seeing everyone working together and getting the bad guys off the street."

He's proud of what he said was his achievement in depoliticizing the way officers were picked for specialized work, such as for detective jobs, by allowing his commanders to make the seleection.

He is also satisfied with his tough stance on gun control.

"I've been criticized widely for not just giving out licenses to carry to anyone who meets the minimum qualifications," he said. "Before you get a license to carry [in Quincy], you need a good reason."

Matt Carroll can be reached at mcarroll@globe.com.

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