Police Chief Berkowitz announces plans to retire

By Jay Turner

After three decades of service to the town of Canton as a police officer and community leader, Police Chief Ken Berkowitz has announced plans to step down.

Berkowitz formally notified Town Administrator Charlie Aspinwall of his decision in a letter dated March 7 and will officially retire on June 15.

Police Chief Ken Berkowitz

A longtime Canton resident, Berkowitz joined the CPD as a patrol officer in 1992 and was promoted to sergeant and later lieutenant before being appointed the town’s 13th chief of police in 2005. He has also served on numerous town committees throughout his tenure, including recent stints on the Canton Alliance Against Substance Abuse (CAASA) and the Canton Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee (CDEI).

In his letter announcing his retirement, Berkowitz said he has enjoyed a collaborative and cooperative relationship with every Select Board member, town administrator, and police officer he has worked with, and he thanked the town’s residents and business owners for their “unwavering support” for the Canton Police Department.

Berkowitz added that he will miss working with “so many gifted and talented colleagues” but feels it is time to “pass the torch.”

“Please know I will be available to help make the transition as smooth as possible,” he said. “I cannot put into words how thankful I am for having had the opportunity to serve the town of Canton.”

In addition to serving as Canton’s police chief for the last 17 years, Berkowitz has also been actively involved with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and previously served a stint as president of the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (MetroLEC) — a consortium of 45 area police departments offering regional services such as crisis negotiation and SWAT. In 2013, through MetroLEC, he was called on to coordinate a team of officers in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing and later assisted with the manhunt in Watertown that ended with the capture of terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Berkowitz has also undergone extensive federal law enforcement training throughout his career and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the DEA’s Drug Unit Commander Academy as well as its Group Supervisor Institute. He has also received training in dignitary protection from the U.S. Secret Service and has traveled abroad to study counter-terrorism strategies and exchange best practices with members of the Israeli and UK security forces.

Asked whether he intended to remain in law enforcement following his retirement from the CPD, Berkowitz said on Monday that he did not have any “concrete plans” but offered no additional comment. In the meantime, at least one member of the Berkowitz family — his son Benjamin — will stay on with the CPD in his role as a full-time officer in the patrol division.

The Canton Select Board is the appointing authority for the chief of police and will likely discuss the search process and other next steps at its upcoming meeting on Tuesday, March 29.

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