Published September 3, 2021
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — It’s the end of an era.
Chief David Breen retired on Monday, Feb. 1 after working for the Lynnfield Police Department for almost 27 years. He was appointed chief on Nov. 1, 2010.
“I am really looking forward to it,” said Breen. “I have been in law enforcement for 38 years and I have been considering retiring for a couple of years. The last year was particularly challenging with everything going on politically and with COVID. My wife wanted me to retire and the timing was right. I contacted the Retirement Board and crunched the numbers, and it made sense for me to go now.”
Breen did not originally plan on pursuing a career in law enforcement. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at the Wentworth Institute of Technology and planned on majoring in Electronics.
“I lasted one semester and I knew that is not what I wanted to do,” said Breen. “My uncle at the time was the chief of the Peabody Police Department. I had a cousin who was a state trooper and I had a brother who was a police officer as well. I decided to take a course in law enforcement the next semester to see if that is what I liked. I took that course, and I knew it was something I would enjoy. I got my associate’s degree, my bachelor’s degree and my master’s degree in law enforcement.”
Breen began his career working as a store detective for Sears Roebuck in 1983, which is when he made his first arrest. He joined the Peabody Police Department in 1985 and was a campus police officer at Salem State College from 1984-1989.
After working for the Peabody Police Department for nine years, Breen decided to transfer to the Lynnfield Police Department. His first day on the job was June 6, 1994.
“It was a good opportunity,” said Breen. “Peabody was going through some turmoil at the time. Lynnfield and Peabody both go to Peabody District Court, which is where I got to know Capt. Steve Garland. He told me there was going to be an opening. I got my resume together and interviewed for the position, and I got it. It happened quickly. It was a great move career wise.”
Breen began his Lynnfield tenure working as a patrol officer. He was appointed sergeant in 2005 and was appointed chief in 2010. After he was appointed chief, Breen said his first objective was to “modernize the department.”
“We did not have computer terminals in the cruisers when I first became chief,” said Breen. “We were able to put the computers in. We also updated our policies and procedures.”
Breen worked with local resident Dan MacIntyre in order to create the Emergency First Responders Information Network (ERIN) program, which provides first responders helpful information while responding to homes that have autistic family members.
“Dan really enlightened me a lot about the autism spectrum because no two people with autism are the same,” said Breen. “It allows us to tailor our response to each particular individual. It is completely voluntarily, but we have received a good response from people. It allows them to tell us the likes and dislikes of the person they are caring for. We want to make it as comfortable as possible when we have to go into a house. We were able to create the program with our existing software.”
Breen also worked with Capt. Nick Secatore, who was appointed interim police chief by the Select Board last week, on the joint Police Department and Fire Department radio site upgrade project that has been taking place for the last five years. As part of the project, the two departments have been replacing copper wire with fiber optic.
“We are able to share more data much quicker and it is less susceptible to weather,” said Breen. “When we had copper, certain weather patterns would cause pauses when first responders were communicating.”
Breen said the most enjoyable part of working for the Lynnfield Police Department was the relationships he developed with people over the years.
“I met some great characters,” said Breen. “When I started, the Lynnfield PD had a lot of characters such as Dave Donegan, Woody Pepper, Charlie Peabody, Dave Mayerson and so many people. We really enjoyed working together. When I first joined the department, Dave Donegan called Lynnfield Mayberry R.F.D. He was not too far off. Lynnfield was a small bedroom community back then and we didn’t have the development we have now.”
Breen also said he has enjoyed interacting with residents over the course of his tenure working for the community. He enjoyed the town so much that he and his wife, Robin, decided to move to Lynnfield 24 years ago.
“Lynnfield is a nice place to work,” said Breen. “We love living in the community. We have made a lot of friends and we have great neighbors.”
While Breen said he is proud of his tenure working for the Lynnfield Police Department, his one regret is not solving the murder of Keivan Heath, who was shot and killed at a house party at 8 Needham Rd. over Memorial Day weekend in 2016.
“We are still working that case and it is still active,” said Breen. “We would like to get some closure for the family. That is one thing I wish we could have done, but we are still working on it and we are not going to abandon that case. It’s tough because we have witnesses who are unwilling or are afraid to come forward. We know there were people there who witnessed it because there were many people there. We just ask if anybody has information and want to maintain anonymity, we would like them to share it with us so we can help the family.”
With his law enforcement career now in the rearview mirror, Breen said he is looking forward to continuing to volunteer for three different nonprofits.
“I am going to be staying on A Healthy Lynnfield’s board,” said Breen. “I am the treasurer of a nonprofit in Peabody called The Ancient Order of Hibernians, which is a Christian charitable organization. It has been in the current location for over a hundred years. I was recently nominated to be a board member of the Lakes Region Humane Society.”
Breen and Robin also plan on taking their boat out on Ossipee Lake frequently this summer. He is also looking forward to gardening, golfing, skiing and undertaking home improvement projects.
“I will be staying busy,” said Breen. “That’s for sure.”
Breen said Secatore is going to face some challenges in the coming months as the interim chief works to implement the new requirements included in the police reform bill.
“He is going to have to write some more policies, change some things and will have more reporting responsibilities,” said Breen. “He is going to have his own cross to bear.”
Breen said the Police Department is going to be in a good position moving forward. He recalled that Secatore, Sgt. Chris DeCarlo and Sgt. Sean Donovan were the three finalists for the open captain’s position in the wake of Karl Johnson’s retirement last January. All three are considered the frontrunners for the permanent chief’s job.
“We have some great leadership in the department,” said Breen. “I think we would do well with either one of them.”
Breen thanked residents, business owners and local officials for the support they have given him over the course of his career.
“I want to thank all of the residents in town, the friends I have made, the business owners I have worked with such as MarketStreet, and all of the selectmen and the three different town administrators I have worked with,” said Breen. “We have all worked together to solve problems and I thought we did a very good job doing that. I want to thank everybody for supporting me over the years. I will still be around and hopefully Lynnfield will continue to grow.”