This is Leadership
On April 15, 2013, two bombs detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street. Within seconds, the Boston Police Department radio crackled with the voice of a supervisor who identified himself as Delta 984.
He cleared the lanes for ambulances; he drew personnel from the medical tent; he designated a crime scene anchor point. And twenty-five minutes after the blasts, a command post was established at a nearby firehouse.
The priorities were stated plainly and in order: get the victims out, sweep for additional devices, evacuate civilians from bars and restaurants, and get someone on social media to tell the public what was happening.
Not a single patient transported by Boston EMS that day perished. Zero. Every person who could be saved was saved. It did not happen by accident. It happened because the right people, in the right positions, made the right calls under the worst possible conditions.
What About the Start?
Hopkinton is where that marathon starts. Our town sends that race into the world every spring. Which is why what happened here — inside our own police department, over the past six years — is so difficult to reconcile with the kind of leadership that Boston demonstrated.
Bennett’s 2024 self-review was, as Hopkinton residents Gayle and Scott Ober wrote in these pages, “pervaded by blatant ambiguity” — heavy on pizza parties at the Senior Center and Facebook posts, silent on accountability, safety failures, and anything measurable.
Steve Snow put it plainly after Bennett’s November 2024 mid-year review: the word “social media” appeared fourteen times. “Pizza party” appeared five times. Well-being concerns, investigations, arrests, prosecutions, convictions, sex offender checks, registrations, safety, GPS, and body cameras were mentioned ZERO times.
This is not a small-town problem that deserves a small-town shrug. This is about public safety. These are real consequences for real people.
The Bar is Very Low
Chief Joseph Bennett is retiring on June 30, 2026. After 35 years with the department and six years as chief, he’s stepping down. Town Manager Elaine Lazarus and Select Board Chair Joe Clark said some nice things in the official announcement. That’s what they’re supposed to do. But Bennett’s track record paints a different picture.
In April 2023, all six department sergeants sent Bennett a formal letter of no confidence. Not one, not two—every single one. They pointed to years with empty leadership spots, constant understaffing, and repeated broken promises about promotions. By then, fourteen officers had already left the department since Bennett had taken over.
Boston Marathon, a SEAR 1 Event
The Boston Marathon carries a SEAR 1 (Special Event Assessment Rating 1) designation — the same security classification as the Super Bowl or a presidential inauguration. That means federal coordination teams, explosive-detection canines, cyber risk assessments, and active involvement from the TSA, FBI, CBP, and ATF. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies monitor continuously, with particular focus on soft targets: crowded viewing areas, the start line, and the finish line. Hopkinton is that start line.
Boston Marathon 2023
On the ten-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, Chief Bennett submitted a marathon preparedness plan listing thirteen Massachusetts State Police (MSP) officers as emergency contacts. All thirteen of the MSP sworn officers who were listed on that plan had left the MSP altogether — many retiring at higher ranks than those listed on that plan (a tell-tale sign that Bennett had circulated an old plan). One had been indicted for financial crimes in December 2020.
Despite the (then) Select Board being notified several times (both verbally and in writing) before the 2024 marathon, nothing was done. At a minimum, Bennett should have been reported to POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training). Post refers to state-level commissions or boards that set minimum training, education, and ethical standards for police officers. When this information came to light, both the HPD and the select board should have reported it within 48 hours.
Boston Marathon 2026
On Marathon Monday, as I looked at the thousands of people happily gathered at the start, I thought about the safety of the 30,000 runners, as well as the volunteers and spectators. My concern was real — I knew the Hopkinton police were not adequately prepared for emergencies under Joe Bennett’s leadership. I felt a measure of relief knowing the Massachusetts State Police and several federal agencies were there, should something awful happen
We Have an Opportunity — Take it Seriously
The Select Board now has an opportunity that does not come often — a clean slate and a chance to get this right. In February 2026, the board unanimously approved a public safety audit. That was the right call. What comes next matters even more.
The vetting process for the next police chief must be serious, thorough, and transparent. The community deserves to know what standards are being applied, what qualities are being sought, and who is doing the evaluating.
A chief sets the culture of the entire department. The young officers who came up under Bennett’s tenure have, in many cases, never experienced what real police leadership looks like. They deserve better.
Hopkinton Needs Strong Leadership in Its Next Police Chief
Think about what Delta 984 did on Boylston Street in 2013. He did not wait to be told what to do; he did not cover his position with vague language; he did not leave the lanes blocked. He cleared them.
Hopkinton needs a police chief who clears the lanes. The Select Board needs to find that person — and they need to take the search as seriously as the job demands.
Listen For Yourself
The audio from that day in 2013 is available for anyone to listen to at broadcastify.com/news/4. I encourage the Select Board to do so before they begin the search. That is what leadership under pressure sounds like. This is the standard.
Moving Forward and RAD
Once we have a new leader in place, we must hold that person accountable. We have leadership at the Hopkinton Fire Department; now, let’s shape up the Police Department.
The need to bring back Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) will be discussed in a subsequent editorial.
