Stephen O’Brien is set to retire December 5th, the anniversary of his start as a police officer.
“Well, 20 years as chief certainly helped in that role, but 32 years of policing, and 20 of them as chief and my age, everything seems to add up right now," he told WAMC. "There's a lot of transitioning going on within the town of Lenox itself, and it's probably time for a transition here as well.”
O’Brien says it’s time for the Lenox PD to take on a new leader.
“Well, of course, everything has changed," he said. "Well, the world has changed. People have changed. The people we all work with have changed. Everything has turned a different page, and that is probably to be expected. Certainly, some events that occurred around the country have changed the outlook of policing.”
The next chief will be tasked with continuing to oversee the transition into a new, over $20 million public safety building expected to open this summer. The new 19,000-square foot facility will combine Lenox’s police, fire, and emergency services at the corner of Route 7 and 20 and Housatonic Street.
“We are soon going to be occupying a brand-new public safety building, and our successor here will certainly have to take on the responsibility of policy surrounding new things going on with that building," said O'Brien. "Accreditation is a big is a big item as well.”
Voters approved the project at special town meeting in December 2022 due to the decrepit nature of the facilities that currently house the Lenox public safety departments. O’Brien sees the move as a fitting capstone on his long career.
“For all of my 20 years, we've been advocating for a new a new location for the police department, and we combined that with the with the fire department and the ambulance squad as well," he said. "So, it's a public safety complex. That is a giant accomplishment. I wish it came earlier in my career, but this is the way it worked out. So, it'll be at the at the very end of my career.”
O’Brien reflected on how the role of police chief has changed in the past two decades.
“At least within the commonwealth, there is a lot more administrative tasks that are be being placed on small town police chiefs," he said. "Well, all police chiefs, but they affect small town police chiefs in a different way, because we don't have the administrative staff that everybody else does.”
He also detailed the challenges he’s faced heading the Lenox PD.
“A lot of things have been a challenge," said O'Brien. "The change of climate certainly changed things. The pandemic certainly changed things and challenged everybody that was involved in that people have changed. Policing in and of itself has changed. It's a different time, and a different- People have a different perspective on the job now.”
WAMC asked the chief what he learned about Lenox while serving the Berkshire community.
“The citizenry of Lenox has been very supportive of the police department in almost every aspect of what we do," he answered. "We worked with good select boards as well, and we've had the opportunity to have some terrific town managers to manage the town. But all the upstairs staff. The town is has been well managed, and we've had the support of the citizens.”
O’Brien offered a word of advice to his yet unidentified successor.
“Patience," he chuckled. "You need to take things as they come and be patient with things and don't jump to rash decision decisions right away.”
O’Brien has given Lenox 11 months to find his replacement before stepping down.
As far as his own next steps after retirement, the outgoing chief is still figuring it out.
“I haven't completely planned out what is what is coming up, but I certainly will. There will be something next," O'Brien told WAMC. "I don't know exactly what that's going to be, but all I could say is, thank you to all of Lenox and thank you to Berkshire County. You have a great group of people policing for the entire county. So, I thank them for their, all of them, for their hard work and their friendship and their camaraderie as well.”
Town officials will convene to determine the recruitment process for O’Brien’s replacement, which will likely involve a national search.
O’Brien’s brother is Lenox fire chief, and is also retiring this year. Christopher O'Brien announced last summer that he would step down after 38 years with the Lenox FD when his contract expires in June.
