Michael Murphy Named New Police Chief

Current Police Chief Edward Nolan will soon retire, and Sgt. Michael Murphy will be his replacement. Town Administrator Greg Baluknois made the announcement at Monday’s Board of Selectmen meeting and looks forward to Murphy’s leadership.

“We wanted to identify a leader to bring the to the next level,” Balukonis said.

Both Murphy and Sgt. Larry Tremblay were interested in the position and received high scores in the assessment center conducted. Balukonis commended both men for rising to the challenge.

Murphy has the vision, leadership, respect and most importantly the courage for the position, Balukonis said.

Murphy thanked the town administrator and Board of Selectmen for their support.

As the police department readies for change, Murphy wants the community to know that the department is prepared, he said. He wants to personally hear what the community expects from the Police Department and plans to meet with the town administrator, Board of Selectmen and other town officials over the next several weeks. 

Murphy has been a sergeant since 2007, was a detective for nine years and a patrolman for four. He holds a master's of science in Criminal Justice Administration and is a certified emergency medical technician, field sobriety instructor and Rape Aggression Defense System instructor. He was Police Officer of the Year in 2006, 2009 and 2011.

Murphy developed and managed the North Reading Drug Task Force, is a sworn DEA Task Force Agent and has attended more than 3,500 hours of formal training in different areas of law enforcement, including critical incident management, drug investigation policy and procedure development and managing risks in public safety operations.

In his spare time, Murphy is a volunteer for the North Reading Rotary and 14-year volunteer head coach for youth football.