Somerville Police Department - Somerville Massachusetts Police Department

Public Notice

Public Notice

The City of Somerville is eligible to receive a direct award of $23,562 from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant issued by the Office of Justice Programs of the U. S. Department of Justice. 

Funding from this grant can only be used for improving aspects of our local criminal justice system.  It is the intention of the Police Department to use the Justice Assistance Grant to improve our criminal investigation capabilities as well as the training and safety of our officers in the line of duty. 

Comments may be e-mailed to  pupton@police.somerville.ma.us or mailed to the Somerville Police Department, 220 Washington Street, Somerville, MA. 02143, Attention: Deputy Chief Paul Upton, on or before July 8, 2013. 

Emergency Preparedness Training Today

Today, June 4^th, Tufts University will conduct an emergency preparedness training exercise with the cities of Somerville and Medford, the Cambridge Health Alliance, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Beginning at 8 a.m., you may notice an increase in the number of police, fire, and emergency vehicles on the Tufts campus. You may also see ambulances transporting volunteers posing as patients to Somerville Hospital. All activities will be simulated. No actual hazards or chemicals will be used. Emergency vehicles taking part in the training will not use lights or sirens. The exercise is scheduled to end at noon, but emergency vehicles will be on campus into the afternoon while participants review the exercise. Portions of streets on campus will be closed, including Talbot Avenue, Lower Campus Road, and Latin Way. All city streets will remain open.

For more information, visit http://emergency.tufts.edu.

BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY AWARD FOR MAY 2013

SOMERVILLE POLICE BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY AWARD is presented for outstanding dedication and effort for the month of May 2013 to

Officer Devin Schneider

The Somerville Police Department understands the correlation between crime and mental illness and recognizes that treatment of an individual’s illness may serve the community far better than incarceration. Officer Devin Schneider, who has been a member of the Somerville Police Department for past two years, is an example of this commitment. The department received notification of a threatening letter that had been sent to a community member and it was later learned that the individual that sent this letter may have also violated a restraining order. Officer Schneider identified the suspect and recognized that the individual was in need of mental health assistance. Instead of arresting the suspect, Officer Schneider was able to document the individuals declining mental health, which may have resulted in the suspect’s involvement with the alleged crimes, and undertook the long process of identifying the suspect’s doctor. Officer Schneider made the appropriate arraignments for this individual to be back in treatment, which also alleviated the individual’s involvement with criminal activity. This perseverance and compassion displayed by Officer Schneider was well beyond the call of duty and merits this award.
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Thomas Pasquarello, Chief of Police