READING, MASS. (WHDH) - Two Massachusetts police unions issued a stern response Thursday after a selectman questioned the integrity of the Reading Police Department during a board meeting earlier this week and stated that he was “intimidated” by the large number of police officers in the town who have access to guns.
Many Reading police officers got up and walked out of the meeting on Tuesday night after selectman Andrew Friedman said he would fear for his safety should he choose the wrong candidate for the office of Chief of Police.
“I’m feeling pretty intimated by the police officers in this crowd. You laugh at that, you think it’s funny but I have to live in this town and all of you drive around with guns,” he said to the crowd at the meeting.
Prior to Friedman’s statement, members of the department addressed the board with their concerns over delays in appointing a chief and the negative impacts it could have on the department and community.
“It is a great disappointment that the board member’s statement has left us with the need to respond publicly. However, the comments that were directed at the women and men of the Reading Police Department by an elected official are shameful,” the Reading Police Supervisors Union and the Reading Police Patrol Officers Union said in a joint statement. “To insult and fault us for carrying firearms in the performance of our dangerous line of work, is beyond hurtful and detrimental to the reputation of all the officers. We serve this community with pride and risk our lives for the safety of its citizens.”
The unions added, “We serve this community with pride and risk our lives for the safety of its citizens. Such a statement by an elected official undermines the community’s trust in the police, and trust is the very foundation on which a successful police department is built.”
The department has been without a chief for more than a year.
One day after the meeting, Friedman said, “I deeply regret my statement and recognize it was wrong. It was one of those comments, made in the heat of the moment, that I wish I could take back.
Friedman also said that he understands their frustration with the long hiring process.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)