BOSTON (WHDH) - The second-highest ranking member of the Massachusetts State Police is leaving the department after more than 30 years, officials announced Friday.
Deputy Superintendent Barry O’Brien, who held the post for just over a year, has retired after “32 years of honorable service to the citizens of the Commonwealth,” State Police Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin said.
O’Brien was appointed to the position when former Col. Richard McKeon and former Deputy Superintendent Francis Hughes abruptly retired amid accusations that McKeon ordered a trooper to scrub embarrassing information from a police report to protect, Alli Bibaud, the daughter of a Massachusetts judge.
Gilpin named O’Brien deputy superintendent when she replaced McKeon in Nov. 2017.
“Barry O’Brien capped a long and distinguished career with the State Police by playing a vital role on my Command Staff in ensuring the continued success of the Department as a full-service police agency and for laying the groundwork for future improved efficiency,” Gilpin said in a statement. “I am forever grateful to him for his counsel and friendship, and wish him all the best in retirement.”
O’Brien commanded Troop B within the Division of Field Services, overseeing all patrol operations in seven barracks in western Massachusetts from January 2010 to June 2017. Prior to that, he served in a supervisory position at the Commonwealth Fusion Center, in the Office of Media Relations, and in the State Police Detective Unit for Hampden County, where he investigated homicides and other major crimes.
Gilpin has named Lieutenant Colonel Christopher S. Mason as O’Brien’s replacement.
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