Worcester Police Chief Gemme is Out Effective May 13th, UPDATED

Wednesday, May 04, 2016

GoLocalWorcester News Team

Chief Gary Gemme

After years of controversies Worcester Police Chief Gary Gemme is leaving his post effective May 13.

The controversial Chief is leaving the Department. Gemme was tied to social media miscues, failure to respond to the opioid overdose issue, and increasing violent crime, according to FBI data. Gemme's legacy was one with consistent controversy.

"The transition for a change in leadership at the Worcester Police Department which began nearly six months ago is complete and I am confident that the person selected as the next chief of police is well prepared to assume the responsibility. Therefore, it is my intention to retire from this position on May 13," Gemme said in a statement.

Gemme has served as chief of police for 12 years and has been in the department for a total of 33 years.

Social Media Disaster

Gemme had a long standing battle with the Telegram newspaper over the Police Department's failure to respond to public document requests by the newspaper. When GoLocal launched in 2012, the online site wrote a series of stories about the Department under Gemme and the failure to hire an entire police class. Many of the Worcester Police Academy grads had to find jobs with other communities. Gemme went to social media to blast GoLocal for asking if it could happen with a class being recruited in 2012.

In 2012, GoLocal Reported:

Worcester Police Chief Gary Gemme's twitter account @911Chief has been shut down. It says the username no longer exists. Yesterday morning Chief Gemme sparked outrage among City Councilors and even his boss, Manager Mike O'Brien, when he wrote a prediction that GoLocal would not last as a company in Worcester.

Gemme said, “Prediction.. GoLocal will go defunct before the new recruit class graduates and the new officers will have a long and secure career with WPD.”

This comment came in response to a GoLocalWorcester article questioning the job security of the latest round of police recruits, because of the multi-million dollar budget deficit the city is facing. Also, several of the 2009 police recruits were laid off and not rehired.

It has been previously reported by a number of other local media outlets that Gemme has a poor relationship with area reporters. He has a history of using his twitter handle to address media coverage.

Call for Resignation

At the time, it nearly cost Gemme his job. Council members were calling for his removal. As reported:

Nine city councilors want Police Chief Gary Gemme’s badge, even if they have no power to do so.

“This is absolutely real,” former Worcester Mayor and talk radio host on WTAG Jordan Levy told GoLocalWorcester. “This has been going on for months and for the past two weeks, they have been making phone calls trying to drum up support.”

The number, he said, was at nine as late as Thursday night, said Levy, “but that number might be down to 7 by now.”

“The pressure is on and some have run,” he said. “This is indicative of the city council’s actions. It’s like the gang who couldn’t shoot straight.”

At-Large Councilor Konstantina Lukes acknowledged having publicly called out the chief at a recent City Council meeting, during which, “I urged him not to generate conflict with our news media.”

Asked whether she has made or received phone calls concerning Gemme, Lukes finally conceded, “Yeah, I’ve had conversations,” but would not reveal the nature of those discussions.

Pressed as to whether any of the calls discussed either a vote of no confidence in the chief or his outright dismissal, Lukes said, “I said what I said. That’s it. I just don’t know enough. I’m getting involved with something beyond my control.”

Levy pointed out the city charter gives councilors no authority to call for the chief’s dismissal.

GoLocalWorcester has confirmed from multiple sources phone discussions concerning the chief have taken place over the past several weeks.

On the Way Out

With gang violence, home invasions and two high profile shootings plaguing the city in the summer of 2015, City Council members called for the State Police to be deployed to stem the increase in crime.

Others had taken Gemme to task for the City of Worcester's failure to respond to the opioid issue. While other cities in the Commonwealth had been far more proactive.

In Gemme's departure Augustus paints a different picture.

"Over the course of nearly 12 years as chief, Gary Gemme completely remade the way policing is done in the City of Worcester. Under Chief Gemme's leadership, the Worcester Police Department modernized its approach to technology, instilled a culture of accountability and reoriented the department's mission to put an emphasis on community policing that gets officers ingrained in the neighborhoods they serve, with the goal of preventing crime before it happens," said City Manager Ed Augustus in a statement.

Augustus added "Chief Gemme will retire as the City's longest-serving police chief since World War II."

The Worcester's crime issues were so bad that during last summer council members called for the State Police to be deployed.

Gemme Reflects

In his statement, Gemme concluded by expressing his appreciation and gratitude.

"I appreciate the opportunity to serve as the police chief for the City of Worcester. I am humbled to have led a police department of highly motivated, professional, and dedicated men and women. I am thankful for the support and commitment that I received from four exceptional deputy chiefs. The city and the police department are in the hands of highly competent and professional leadership.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked for two supportive and professional leaders, Mike O'Brien and Ed Augustus. I am truly fortunate for the weekly and sometimes daily guidance, frankness, and honesty of Kathleen Johnson, in her roles as Human Resources Director and Assistant City Manager."

Successor to be Named

March 2012

The Worcester Telegram had reported that the Worcester Police were one of a group of local police departments that were presenting challenges to the public in regards to looking at police logs, something that is public record by law.

Read more here