March 29, 2024

Meet East Providence's New Police Chief - Chris Parella

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Chris Parella was born and raised in Bristol, Rhode Island but is a true "Townie" now. The 52 year old Parella was hired as East Providence's new police chief last August. Parella was the choice of city manager Paul Lemont after embattled former police chief Joseph Tavares reached a settlement agreement with the city and retired. "When I became chief I had to deal with a fractured staff from the tension with the former chief. It was difficult," said the new chief. "But the staff was magnificent and worked well together. It has been a very busy four months," said Parella. Parella faced a perfect storm of issues right from the first day as Chief of Police. "We faced a station in need of many things from the cuts of the prior budget commission. There was an open (police) union contract and antiquated staff space in our headquarters and a need to upgrade building security," noted Parella. "We faced some immense projects right away and immediately our staff came through in a big way."

In his first four months as chief, Parella has changed some scheduling of staff, refurbished a good part of the police station building which hadn't been painted or updated in years. "I'm very concerned that our men and women represent our city well and I want our brand to be all inclusive," said Parella. "This building wasn't friendly or pleasant looking to the public with its' drab walls and office arrangements. I want the public to feel welcomed and comfortable when they have to conduct business here," he said. So Parella had the building's interior painted freshly and upgraded the security with cameras, etc. "We are almost very inter-operable with our security and hope to soon be on line with the high school's security cameras in a direct way." Parella is very concerned with school security and pledged to "strongly" support the presence of school resource officers (SRO) in the schools. "The SRO's are very beneficial. I think the SRO program has been the most successful program in the history of the police department," added Parella. The chief particularly mentioned the good relationship he has with school department superintendent Kim Mercer. "From the time she (Mercer) came here she has been 100% cooperative with us. Schools and police need to work together very closely in order to keep our schools as safe as possible," he said. "I want to congratulate officer Ray Blinn who coordinates this effort with all schools. He makes it work," he said. This wasn't always the case as a former city manager and some former councilmen were against the SRO program. A former Mayor and city manager were against "allocating police in the schools because of the cost...". Area school shootings and the national outcry over school violence forced the hands of some to support SRO programs. Chris Parella doesn't need any coaxing, "I strongly support SRO's."

Parella has expanded his vision of city security as the East Providence police department is one of the only local departments - if not the only one - to expand emergency response training to other municipal buildings, apart from schools. The city police recently conducted a training session for city hall employees in the case of an active shooter or similar emergency. "We hope to soon complete security training for all public buildings like libraries, city garage, etc." Parella noted.

Several times during the Reporter's visit with Chief Parella, he would pause to praise his staff. "A tradition in East Providence has been to funnel most resources to the front line staff. Our cops on the road or street are what make us tick. We have fewer brass than most departments. For me, what is critical to our community are the men and women of this department at roll call every day. I take our reputation seriously, it is the patrols who make or break our success, our crime rate is low here because of these officers," continued Parella. "We've come a long way. We have all new police vehicles, upgraded security systems, thermal imaging technology, a new scheduling system, a retooled SWAT unit and more. And not a penny of these improvements have cost the EP taxpayers a dime," said a proud Parella. "The funding comes from our asset forfeiture monies," he said. Civil asset forfeiture is a legal tool that allows law enforcement officials to seize property that they assert has been involved in certain criminal activity. A major settlement with internet Google corporation awarded East Providence to purchase an entire fleet of police vehicles as well as help out an underfunded police pension system.

Chris Parella has come up through the ranks of the police department, unlike his predecessor, Joe Tavares. Tavares, although a graduate of East Providence High School, spent his police career of 30 years in Warwick before he became the police chief in East Providence. Parella has served in the department since he was hired in 1990. "Paul Lemont swore me in back then and it seems appropriate that he selected me as Chief in August. Former EP Mayor Leo Sullivan was on the council back then and he had been a teacher in Bristol High School where I graduated in 1980," said a reflective Parella. "I want to thank Mr. Lemont for his strong support of me and of this police department," Parella added. Parella has been a sergeant, lieutenant, Captain and a Major while being named a Deputy Chief, Acting Chief and finally Chief of Police. "My staff, Deputy Chief Bill Nebus and Detective Commander Richard Frazier, among others, are great as we all work together well. If we have any different opinions, we discuss them around the table in a professional manner," said Parella.

Parella lives in the Kent Heights section of the city. "I've lived in EP for a long time, since 1989. My wife is from here, a Townie and I love being in the city and seeing residents in stores or on a field. It helps to be around to answer questions and be generally available. I'm a parishioner at St. Martha's church, I've coached youth sports and I love this city," he added. His wife, Nancy, is a teacher at Bay View and there are two daughters in college, one in law school. "I spend a lot of time on the job, other than a beach day once in a while I'm here. I work out occasionally, enjoy family and my three dogs."

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