WASHINGTON — The Police Chiefs of Plymouth County are pleased to announce that Plymouth County Outreach (PCO) representatives recently attended the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative’s (P.A.A.R.I.) third annual National Law Enforcement Summit.
The three-day event took place Wednesday, Dec. 4 to Friday, Dec. 6 in Washington D.C. at three locations adjacent to the U.S. Capitol. It brought together more than 100 law enforcement and recovery leaders from across the United States and Canada to share their collaborative efforts to combat the opioid epidemic in their own communities.
East Bridgewater Police Chief Scott Allen, Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri, Hanover Police Chief Walter Sweeney, Marion Police Chief John Garcia and Pembroke Police Chief Richard Wall were all in attendance.
Other highlights of the summit included a briefing hosted by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) featuring Director James Carroll, and a keynote address by U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome M. Adams.
PCO representatives in attendance included Operations Supervisor Hannah Panteleos, Lead Recovery Coach Haley Kennedy, HUB Coordinator John Rogers and Project Coordinator Vicky Butler.
Chief Allen, Chief Botieri, Chief Sweeney and Butler presented as panelists during a PCO presentation on post-overdose outreach.
Chief Wall, Chief Garcia and Rogers all spoke about about new initiatives, including police departments working with their local school systems and community to provide resources for children affected by substance use, identifying individuals in the community who are at the highest risk of an overdose and providing wrap-around services to help those individuals obtain long term recovery and/or harm reduction education.
PAARI founder John Rosenthal noted to the attendees that Plymouth County Outreach members are at the forefront of reducing opioid usage.
“What Plymouth (County) is doing, with the collaboration of every Chief, the Sheriff’s Department, and the emergency rooms, is without a doubt a part of the solution,” Rosenthal said. “If every county in America was doing what they are doing, you would see a dramatic reduction [in opioid overdoses]. In Massachusetts, they are the model … It’s because of the collaboration and the teamwork.”
Kennedy then spoke as part of a program of individuals sharing personal stories of their recovery.
All of the sessions were video recorded an available online.
“The National Law Enforcement Summit is a tremendous event that brings a wide variety of law enforcement and recovery leaders together to share in their common mission to combat the nationwide opioid epidemic,” Butler said. “It was a pleasure to have so many PCO members take part in these critical discussions, and we thank P.A.A.R.I. for hosting this important event.”
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About Plymouth County Outreach: Plymouth County Outreach is a collaborative of police departments throughout Plymouth County led by the following chiefs: Abington Chief David Majenski, Bridgewater Chief Christopher Delmonte, Bridgewater State University Chief David Tillinghast, Brockton Chief John Crowley, Brockton Police Lt. Richard Linehan, Carver Chief Marc Duphily, Duxbury Chief Stephen McDonald, East Bridgewater Chief Scott Allen, Halifax Chief Joao Chaves, Hanover Chief Walter Sweeney, Hanson Chief Michael Miksch, Hingham Chief Glenn Olsson, Hull Chief John Dunn, Kingston Chief Maurice Splaine, Lakeville Chief Matthew Perkins, Marion Chief John Garcia, Marshfield Chief Phillip Tavares, Mattapoisett Chief Mary Lyons, Middleboro Chief Joseph Perkins, Norwell Chief Ted Ross, Pembroke Chief Richard Wall, Plymouth Chief Michael Botieri, Plympton Interim Chief Matthew Clancy, Rochester Chief Robert Small, Rockland Chief John Llewellyn, Scituate Chief Michael Stewart, Wareham Chief John Walcek, West Bridgewater Chief Victor Flaherty and Whitman Chief Timothy Hanlon.
