New Bedford Assistant Deputy Chief Scott Carola picked as Gloucester police chief, council vote pending

NEW BEDFORD Scott Carola, an assistant deputy chief who joined the New Bedford Police Department in 2000, has been picked to lead the Gloucester Police Department, Gloucester Mayor Paul Lundberg's office announced Thursday.

Carola is set to start in Gloucester on Monday, Nov. 30, according to the mayor's statement as the Gloucester Daily Times and WBSM reported it. The appointment now goes to the Gloucester City Council for confirmation, according to the city's announcement, which the Gloucester community website Good Morning Gloucester posted in full Thursday and WBSM also reported.

"Selecting a police chief is one of the most important decisions a city can make, and I am confident that Chief Carola brings the experience, leadership, and commitment to public service that Gloucester deserves," Lundberg said in the announcement, as both Good Morning Gloucester and WBSM published it. "I look forward to working with him as we continue to prioritize the safety and well-being of our residents while building trust throughout our community."

In October 2020 the department named Carola, then a lieutenant, administrative assistant to then-Chief Joseph Cordeiro and the department's public information officer, the officer in charge of communicating with the public and the press, WBSM reported at the time from a department release. He has been assistant deputy chief of patrol operations since 2023, according to the city's announcement, which says he oversaw the department's patrol operations and supervised its two patrol divisions and their command staff.

The mayor's case for Carola

The announcement says Carola brings 29 years of public safety and law enforcement experience, including command-level leadership with a New Bedford department it describes as serving nearly 100,000 residents with more than 200 personnel. It credits him with securing federal and state grants in 2021 and 2024 to support the department's body-worn camera program and accountability initiatives, serving as project manager for a full overhaul of department policy, and setting up a downtown patrol station at the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority terminal to improve police visibility, response times and community engagement. WBSM reported the grants, the policy overhaul and the SRTA terminal substation from the mayor's announcement.

A career that started at the Ash Street Jail

Carola began in law enforcement in 1997 as a corrections officer with the Bristol County Sheriff's Office at the Ash Street Jail, where he worked until 2000, according to the 2020 New Bedford police release as WBSM reported it. After joining the city's police department he worked as a patrol officer, a detective in the Organized Crime Intelligence Bureau, a sergeant in charge of the Gang Unit and a detective lieutenant in the Major Crimes Division, the release said. Carola is a lifelong New Bedford resident, WBSM reported in 2020 and again this week.

He holds master's degrees in criminal justice from Fisher College and in counterterrorism from Nichols College, and he is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police and the Southern Police Institute's Administrative Officer's Course, WBSM reported. Cordeiro called him "a talented and well-respected artist" in 2020, and WBSM reported that Carola has used that skill to draw composite sketches for police investigations.

Around the city he has been a regular at community events such as Trunk or Treat and Shop with a Cop, and in 2023 he designed the department's first challenge coin and started a weekly scavenger hunt for residents to find one hidden somewhere in New Bedford, WBSM reported.

The job Gloucester posted

Gloucester, a city of 29,747 people, advertised the job in May with a salary range of $200,000 to $220,000 depending on qualifications, according to the city's recruitment profile for the position. The profile asked for 15 years of policing experience or its equivalent, including at least five in management, and a master's degree in police science or a related field, though other education could stand in for it. It preferred graduation from a senior command program, naming the Senior Management Institute for Police and the Southern Police Institute among them, and took applications through June 12.

The new chief will serve as the mayor's main adviser on public safety and represent the department before the City Council and the community, according to the profile.

What happens next

The Gloucester City Council's next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 6:30 p.m. in Kyrouz Auditorium at City Hall, 9 Dale Ave., according to the city's calendar. South Coast 360 asked the New Bedford Police Department on Friday about Carola's last day and who will oversee patrol operations, and asked Lundberg's office for its full statement and the date of the council vote. This story will be updated when they answer.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.