New top statie ‘not out seeking personal glory’
Gov. Charlie Baker named a new state police superintendent in a hasty, closed-door ceremony just a day after the prior colonel and his deputy abruptly left amid the Troopergate scandal.
Baker yesterday swore in Kerry Gilpin, 47, a 1994 graduate of the state police academy, as the Massachusetts State Police face questions about the roles of former Col. Richard McKeon and others in scrubbing embarrassing details from the arrest report of a judge’s daughter.
Gilpin — a 23-year veteran who rose rapidly last year from lieutenant to captain to major — is expected to complete “a review of the policies, procedures and protocols associated with editing arrest reports.”
Gilpin most recently served as deputy commander of the Division of Standards and Training. She previously served in Crime Scene Services Section as a trooper and sergeant, and as a lieutenant in the Division of Field Services, the Staff Inspections Section, and the Harassment Investigation Unit.
Unlike many former state police colonels, Gilpin’s resume doesn’t include a posting with a district attorney’s office.
Dana Pullman, head of the troopers’ union, called Gilpin a “hard worker” who “moved up the ranks the way you’re supposed to.”
“We’re optimistically happy knowing it will be her,” Pullman said. “I had a conversation with her. It was all positive. We’re looking forward to getting underway to put the luster back on this job.”
Her childhood experience of violent family tragedy fueled her decision to join the force, a friend said. In 1986, Gilpin’s 15-year-old sister Tracey was murdered and her body was found three weeks later in a state forest in Plymouth. Her murderer was never found, and the experience pushed Gilpin to become a cop, said academy classmate and retired trooper Matt Guarino.
“That was a driving factor in her wanting to become a trooper,” Guarino said. “She can feel for the families and people affected by the crimes and tragedies.”
Guarino, who decades ago carpooled with Gilpin to the state police academy in New Braintree, said Gilpin was apprehensive about seeking the opening.
“She said, ‘Matt, you know me. I sit in the back of the crowd,’ ” Guarino said. “She’s not out seeking personal glory.”
Former state police Col. Timothy Alben said he thinks Gilpin will “do quite well,” adding, “The most important thing — especially right now — is leadership, a vision, and that the department rally around her and move forward to put these most recent controversies behind them to the extent they can.”