Police Chief Ken Berkowitz to receive his due at retirement event

Chief Ken Berkowitz is ready to kick up his feet after 30 years of service.

On Thursday night, July 14, beginning at 5 p.m., town officials, community members, law enforcement officials, family and friends will gather at Blue Hill Country Club to celebrate the career and legacy of retiring Police Chief Ken Berkowitz, who served the town as a police officer, command staff and chief for three decades.

The Citizen reached out to various town officials who worked alongside Berkowitz, and all agreed that he was an outstanding chief — a natural leader who was fair, honest, compassionate, and deeply committed to the Canton community. Noted for his strong communication skills and willingness to collaborate, he also drew praise for his foresight, commitment to education, and a proactive approach to policing that brought the department to new levels of achievement and respect within the greater Boston police community.

Fulfilling a lifelong dream when he was hired as a CPD patrol officer in 1992, Berkowitz would go on to serve for five years in the patrol division before being promoted to sergeant in 1997 and then to lieutenant in 1999. Six years later, in February 2005, he was appointed the 13th chief of the Canton Police Department by former Chief Peter Bright.

Education has been a constant throughout his career, and has led him from undergraduate studies in sociology at North Adams State College to Anna Maria College, where he earned his master’s in criminal justice, and later to the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He also holds degrees from the Drug Unit Commander Academy, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Group Supervisor Institute, and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar. He has lectured at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Team Leader Conference, FBI National Academy Associates, and the center for adult learning at Boston College.

While holding down the position of Canton police chief, Berkowitz served as a control chief of the Metro-LEC Mobile Operations Unit and commander of the Metro-LEC SWAT regional response team. Additionally, he served as a member of the Executive Board for the Greater Boston Police Council and the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and as a member of the Anti-Defamation League’s Executive Committee on Civil Rights.

Lt. Patty Sherrill, who has worked extensively with the chief on two successful state accreditation efforts, noted that Berkowitz saw the intrinsic value of the process, even it meant re-writing department policies or drafting new ones. “It allowed for our department to become transparent to the public,” she said.

Sherrill said Berkowitz has always cared deeply about his extended police family and was always the first to be there or to call when something happened to a fellow officer. “He has such an amazing heart filled with such compassion,” she said. “Finding that in a boss, let alone a leader, is a rarity.”

Sherrill said Berkowitz extended that same level of compassion to the members of the community that he was sworn to protect. “Every decision he made, he did so with the best interests of the residents or businesses in mind,” she said. She added that he was also very progressive and forward thinking and superlative at building relationships with others, particularly with other law enforcement partners and places of worship. “If you needed to talk to someone in a particular field, Chief Berkowitz always knew someone to put you in touch with,” said Sherrill.

School Superintendent Derek Folan said he is very appreciative of the support shown by Berkowitz and the Police Department through the School Resource Officer (SRO) program, which he said is a model for cities and towns across the state. “The chief and his team have ensured our schools are safe, but equally important is that he and his officers have built strong and trusting relationships with our students, friends, and staff,” said Folan. “He understood that the job is being there for people. Sometimes it was a face-to-face conversation; sometimes it was ice cream with kids; sometimes it was a much-needed phone call. He was always there for us.”

Select Board member Mike Loughran, a former School Committee chair, worked with Berkowitz on enhancing the SRO program and improving school security plans and shelter-in-place procedures to help the district prepare for even a worst-case scenario. “It was a tough time to be a police officer, but he showed true professionalism …

See this week’s Citizen to read the full version of this story, including more thoughts on the chief by Peter Bright, Charles Doody, John Connolly and Victor Del Vecchio. Click here to order your subscription today.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jul 8 2022. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.