New chief seen as fresh start
City veteran has focus on community relations
At the end of a staff meeting in 2002, John J. O'Brien gently chided then-chief Jose M. Cordero for his emphasis on crime statistics.
''You gotta look behind the dots, chief," O'Brien was quoted as saying in an October 2002 Globe article. ''You gotta look behind the dots."
The mayor last week named O'Brien as Newton's new police chief, beginning a new era in a department marked by turmoil over the last 2 years. Cordero resigned in July after 28 controversial months at the helm in which he was criticized for focusing too much on statistics and not enough on people in the community.
O'Brien, a deputy superintendent known in the department as J.J., has been part of the Newton force for 31 years with a reputation as an affable, hard-working officer. He has steadily climbed the ranks since joining the department.
He takes a strong approach in statistical analysis -- he led the department's integration of Compstat, a computerized crime-fighting program that Cordero brought from the New York Police Department -- but stresses that it must be accompanied by a strong ties to the community.
''I'd like us to get back into community policing in a strong way," O'Brien said in an interview. ''We're very good at addressing our crime issues. I'd like us to be just as good at our quality-of-life issues."
During a news conference on Thursday, Mayor David B. Cohen praised O'Brien for both his ''solid analytical and problem-solving skills" and for his ''intimate knowledge of the city of Newton and the members of the Newton Police Department."
A 10-member committee last month recommended five candidates to Cohen, who interviewed each before making his decision. Seven candidates applied for the post, which was restricted to internal candidates. The appointment is still subject to the approval of the Board of Aldermen, which is expected to vote next month.
O'Brien, 55, said he comes from a ''police family." His father was a longtime member of the Boston Police Department who died of a heart attack at 63 while driving home from work.
He's an avid reader of novels; right now sitting on his couch is Nelson DeMille's ''Night Fall," about an NYPD homicide detective. He and his wife, Stacey, live in Upper Falls, and they also own a home in Naples, Fla., where they stay a half-dozen times a year.
''We love the warm weather, the palm trees, and the sand," O'Brien said. ''You have to have a little piece of paradise, and that's mine."
O'Brien hesitates to compare himself to Cordero, or to criticize his former boss. He said he never felt like the department lost the support of the community, but acknowledged that morale within the department may have wavered.
''We all have a boss. Today certain people will like me more or like me less [than Cordero]," O'Brien said. ''That was in the past, whatever it was, and you can analyze it in whatever way. But we're moving on."
Some have attributed Cordero's problems with the rank and file to his having been hired from outside the department. The South Bronx native was the first chief in recent memory selected from outside the Newton department. Union officials said at least four internal candidates in 2002 were passed over in favor of Cordero, who now is the director of the Police Department in East Orange, N.J.
''The department has undergone a great deal of change under the previous chief, Cordero," Cohen said at Thursday's news conference. ''Now it's a time to consolidate those changes, make sure that we keep the best of what he's done, and move forward in the areas that we need continued strengthening."
Superintendent Robert McDonald, a 36-year veteran of the force, has been acting chief. At 63, McDonald, who also served as acting chief from 2001 until early 2002, is nearing the department's mandatory retirement age.
Alderman Scott Lennon, who voted against Cordero's appointment, said he hopes that with the hiring of O'Brien, officers in the department will become more in tune with the city.
''They know the villages, they know the people, they know the fabric of the community," he said. ''We used to have a great camaraderie between the public and the Police Department. I think that was lost during [Cordero's] tenure. Hopefully we can get some of that back."
Still, Cordero was successful at bringing the crime rate down in a city already known for its safety. The city in November was recognized by a national organization as the safest city in America with a population of more than 75,000. The rankings, done by the Morgan Quitno Press, based in Lawrence, Kan., were based on data submitted when Cordero was chief.
Cordero was known for his computer models, which allowed police officers to see exactly where crimes were occurring so that they could catch problems before they became trends. O'Brien said he hopes to continue such methods.
''He seems like the perfect bridge," said Alderwoman Christine Snow Samuelson, chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee and a member of the Police Chief Search Committee. ''Almost everyone in the department has worked under J.J. O'Brien at one time or another. But he also worked closely with Cordero when he was there, and I think he has grown to respect some of the changes that he implemented."
Matt Viser can be reached at viser@globe.com. 