The Rockland Selectmen were unanimous in appointing Police Lieutenant Nick Zeoli as the next chief of the department. He’ll be taking over after the retirement of Chief John Llewellyn.
Zeoli was born and raised in Rockland, and graduated from the High School. He’s been a Lieutenant for the last 13 years.
“I’m real excited about the opportunity. I’m very fortunate, to be inheriting a department that is one of the more premier departments on the South Shore,” said Zeoli. “That’s not by accident. It’s due to the dedication of the men and women who work here. It’s due to the leadership of this department, and I’ve been very fortunate to be able to be part of a great management team, and a great department for many years.”
Chief Llewellyn is turning 65, and will be retiring due to state law. He’s been with the department since 1988, and has been Chief since 2006.
He says he could have asked Town Meeting and the state legislature to stay on for two more years.
“However, I truly believe that the department needs change at the leadership level, and that Nick’s skill set is much more in tuned with the changes that are needed,” said Llewellyn. “Let’s look at the face of police work in the last few years – it’s taken a toll on all of us that work in this building. You have to be able to look at things with a new and fresh perspective on how to get the department to the next level. I think it’s really important to get the message out that this is the guy with the skill set that’s going to do that.”
Zeoli graduated from Bridgewater State with degrees in Education and History, and was an 8th grade history teacher for three years in Brockton.
Around the same time, he started his career in law enforcement, joining the department as a part-time officer in 1993, was promoted to a full-time role in 1996, Sergeant in 2003, and Lieutenant in 2009.
From DARE officer to a member of the regional SWAT team, he’s served in nearly every capacity.
“I think one of the things that stands out, is those moments when you face a situation, and you can have an impact on people’s lives. That doesn’t have to necessarily have to be with something really serious. A lot of the police work that we do doesn’t make the papers, it doesn’t get on the news,” said Zeoli. “It’s those daily activities – it may be a dog that’s barking down the street, or maybe there’s an issue with speeders on the street. That’s a big deal to citizens because it affects their daily lives. We like to focus on those things and have an impact on the quality of life of citizens to make it better. I think that’s something we’ve always done, and something we’re going to continue to do.”
He said his goals include getting accreditation for the department, expanding community outreach, and sharing more information through social media and other formats.
Working for the police department is a passion for him, and he looks forward to serving the community.
“I think one of the things that really separates us, is that Rockland has a tendency to come together when things get tough. I’ve seen that a number of times in my career, it’s something that I think, really makes Rockland special,” said Zeoli. “We’re excited about what’s coming down the road. I consider myself a very positive person, I really feel that the best years of Rockland, and this department, are yet to come.”
Llewellyn said Zeoli has been part of the leadership team for more than a decade, it was a natural progression for him to move up to the role of Chief. He said he put his “heart and soul” into the police department.
Llewellyn said he plans on traveling more in retirement, and working more at his law practice. His wife, Officer Sue Llewellyn, plans on retiring in January.
“I’ve been here 34 years now. I just want to thank the townspeople and staff for their support over the years. We’ve had our challenges, and obstacles we’ve had to overcome, but for the most part, I do think that the community supports us,” said Llewellyn. “They see how hard the men and women work every day. I just want to thank everybody for the opportunity, and more importantly – the men and women that work here, because they support the mission of this organization. They are the ones day in, and day out, through the good days and the bad days, through the two and a half years of anti-police sentiment, they have stood tall and not let that get under their skin, at least so the public can see it.”
He said though they’ve had issues at the department over the years, they’ve addressed it and went through training.
“It’s so important that you don’t see the issues in the Northeast – particularly in Rockland – that you see in the Midwest and West, with excessive use of force, racial bias issues, those sort of things. We’ve been training on racial bias, implicit bias, de-escalation techniques. We’ve been doing that for seven, eight, nine years now,” said Llewellyn. “The result is, you don’t see those kind of problems, because the men and women are better educated, they’re better trained. “I’ve been extremely fortunate to be part of all of that, and I know it’s going to continue, I’ll be watching from the sidelines.”
A ceremony will be held on September 16th for Chief Llewellyn’s retirement.
