A badge-pinning ceremony was held in Rockland, for the town’s newest Police Chief, Nick Zeoli.
Zeoli was born and raised in town, and graduated from the high school. He joined the department in 1993, and has been a Lieutenant for the last 13 years.
“We have a department that I’m inheriting which is in top shape, my job is to take it to the next level if I can, and really make sure that the officers have what they need to get their job done, and also, make sure that they have their equipment, and they’re safe,” said Zeoli. “One of the things that I’m very fortunate too, is that this community has always been supportive of their police department. We need to earn that trust, we need to earn that legitimacy, and we need to make sure that this town gets the police department it deserves, and that everybody has an opportunity to be safe.”
The Rockland Police Department, and Zeoli’s family were in attendance at the WRPS studio for the ceremony.
A unanimous choice by the Selectmen, he was officially sworn in by Town Clerk, Liza Landy.
Rockland Police Chief John Llewellyn retired after 34 years with the department; he was the Chief since 2006.
Llewellyn was asked about Zeoli’s rise through the department.
“I hate to trivialize it, but it’s almost like a parent seeing their child grow up and now do the right thing and be an adult,” said Llewellyn. “To see Nick come up, Nick had potential from day one. It was clear that he was somebody that took the job very seriously, took his education on the job very seriously. I think as [Selectman Chair] Mike O’Loughlin pointed out tonight, he never wasted a day on the job without learning more, trying to do better, and do better things for the department. So, great choice.”
