Rice retires after 24 years with Greenfield PD
GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Police Department bid farewell to its second supervisor in a month when Sgt. David Rice signed off for the final time last week.
Rice fulfilled an administrative shift on Friday before embarking on retirement just as Lt. Dan McCarthy had about three weeks earlier.
“I’m sad to retire,” he told the Greenfield Recorder on Monday. “It’s kind of bittersweet. It was time for me to go. The last six months, with everything that was going on ... was really hard on me.”
Rice, 55, was officially off the Police Department’s payroll at midnight on Saturday. He submitted his letter of retirement on May 6, 2022.
The department received considerable attention starting on May 6, when a Hampshire County Superior Court jury found that Chief Robert Haigh Jr. and the Police Department had racially discriminated against then-Officer Patrick Buchanan, who is Black, when he was denied a promotion. The city is now appealing the decision. Rice said this situation generated a barrage of negativity on social media and the comments became unbearable.
“I just decided it was time,” he said over the phone from the Boylston Police Academy, where he was teaching a course on radar detection.
Rice noted he will remain a reserve officer in Greenfield so he can work traffic detail if needed.
The Leverett resident grew up in Natick and joined the Greenfield department 24 years ago following a stint in the U.S. Army. He said he has held several positions, including patrol officer, field training officer, instructor, and most recently, patrol sergeant. He also served as community policing officer from 2005 to 2008. Rice said he was promoted to sergeant about 11 years ago and supervised the 3 p.m.-to-11 p.m. shift for the majority of that time.
“I’m going to miss my shift so much,” he said.
In his most recent position, Rice co-supervised the department’s field training and evaluation program. His career’s primary focuses were the police response to and prevention of domestic violence. He said one of his greatest honors was being the sole recipient of the Criminal Justice Award for Outstanding Victim Advocacy at the State House in 2008 for his work combating domestic violence. He said he was nominated anonymously by a domestic violence survivor he had once helped.
In 2002, he served as a member of a multidisciplinary safety and accountability audit team, composed of police officers, domestic violence prevention advocates, dispatchers and prosecutors, which evaluated response practices in the 47 cities and towns covered by the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. Rice mentioned the team developed 15 best practice recommendations to improve police response and five recommendations to enhance dispatch centers. These recommendations included a report writing card to assist police officers in gathering all relevant information from the victim. This card, Rice said, has become the statewide standard. Rice was also a founding member of the Greenfield mayor’s Domestic Violence Task Force, chairing it until last year.
“You are greatly respected by all of those that have the privilege and honor to work with you and under your guidance,” a dispatcher read during Rice’s final radio call. “You are admirable in your compassion, not only amongst your peers, but with the members of the public. You take pride in your work, and lead by example, always being at the front line and making sure to assist any and all that need you.”
The dispatcher continued by saying Rice’s compassion “should be modeled after by all those that have the honor to wear the badge.”
Rice said he will miss the camaraderie that comes with the job but he feels the department is in good hands.
“We have so many young, promising leaders in our department,” he said. “The officers that work for me, they’re all superstars.”
At a recent open house at my workplace in NJ
Most recently I reconnected with my second roommate, Pam (Morin) Rawson when I was a sophomore at UML (Lowell in '82). It was a wonderful to hear how she and her partner built a life in Maine for all these years. We hope to see each in person this summer.
Award for Excellence in Watercolor, Northshore Art Association
Since I retired from teaching art in the public schools, I have pursued art and art making full time. I have received awards from national and international competitions in both watercolor and photography. Retirement is wonderful! Follow me on Instagram @karenfitzg FB fitivision or my website: www.ksfitzgerald.com
Come visit me at my studio by appointment, 111Main St. Studio #4 Wilman Center, Amesbury, Ma.
Elena is now a licensed mental health counselor in NY and RI and a licensed professional counselor in NJ. She recently started a new position as a psychological counselor and LGBTQIA+ specialist at Ramapo College of New Jersey.
Lloyd L. Corricelli (Criminal Justice, Class of 1987) was named Director, International & Foreign Military Sales Division at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. In this role, he is responsible for the leadership and management of a 200 person division that specializes in acquiring and fielding upwards of $4B in Integrated Air & Missile Defense programs for foreign partners across the globe.
Lloyd is a career Air Force civilian with over ten years of specialization in Foreign Military Sales. He was commissioned out of AFROTC Detachment 345 at UML and served eight years in uniform with the Air Force Security Forces & Office of Special Investigations. He is married to the former Kathleen Hebert of Tewksbury.
On June 6, 2021, Mark Pittella (Criminal Justice-93) was appointed to a Senior Executive Service (SES) position with the United States Marshals Service as Assistant Director. For well over two decades, Assistant Director Mark Pittella has been a key leader in the United States Marshals Service (USMS), most notably in its world-renowned Witness Security Division (WSD). Currently leading the Division, Mark Pittella provides programmatic oversight of the Witness Security Program, which has over 19,000 witnesses authorized for Program services since 1971.
I was interviewed for a new podcast started by another UML alum, Yulisa WuLiang, who recently graduated. I loved the opportunity as an older alum to be able to informally mentor younger people, and I especially appreciated being able to connect with a UML alum who wanting to make a difference in the world. We agreed that it meant so much to be able to connect as AAPIs and to encourage and support each other during these challenging times.
I'm looking forward to starting an advanced certificate in trauma and disaster mental health at SUNY-New Paltz so I may offer on-site pro bono services to those in crisis due to natural or human-made disasters as well as protests against injustice. (By the way, New Paltz is the location of the bridge (yes, that one!) in "A Quiet Place." Also, it so happens that John Krasinski, the director and actor, grew up in the same city as I did although we attended different high schools in Newton, MA). And, last, I'm anticipating being licensed as a mental health counselor in the state of New York and hopefully, someday, start a private practice and offer sliding scale and pro bono services to those most underserved in our society.
Shannon Dow (‘15 BS Nursing) married Clancy Main (‘15 BA Political Science, ‘19 MPA) in Martha’s Vineyard on May 22, 2021. They met at UMass Lowell in 2011.
I miss ULowell. I hope to hear from my classmates!
Received the Excellence in Teaching award for the 5th time in 13 years and received the honor of being listed on the CCU Faculty page:
https://www.ccu.edu/spotlights/faculty/pgravelle/
Clancy and Shannon with their corgi Finley
Clancy Main ‘13, ‘19 proposed to Shannon Dow ‘15 on July 23, 2019 in Boston at the Boston Common. They met at UMass Lowell on Shannon’s first day of college in 2011.
I am now an adjunct professor teaching Masters Communications classes at Northeastern University, where I received my Masters in Leadership (2014) and Masters in Corporate and Organizational Communications (2018).
Hello Everyone!
I am a 2014 UMass Lowell Alum and I lost everything in a fire on Monday, September 16, 2019 (articles inclosed below). We are in desperate need of help. We lost our home, we have no clothes, and now having difficulty getting assistance with housing from the city. Any help is greatly appreciated.
https://www.dotnews.com/2019/tovar-street-three-decker-erupts-flames
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/09/16/firefighters-battle-fire-dorchester-monday-morning/eVevU39RJVJycILMB1jRYJ/story.html
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-find-a-new-home-after-fire?rcid=r01-156872777848-e0caf9d2707f43f8&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w
I will be starting a new job at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY as a clinical counselor starting in August 2019.
In early June, I co-presented with four mental health counselors at the University and Colleges Centers of New York (CCNY) conference at Skidmore College on a session called "A Roundtable Discussion on Race and Ethnicity among College Mental Health Professional Staf." We had over 40 people who attended our session and engaged in this important reality on our campuses across campus.
Chris with Her Book, Ignition
Chris, who works as a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach with her own business, Priority Wellness, recently published her first book. The title is Ignition: A Professional Woman's Guide to Energized, Burnout-Proof Living. Chris wrote Ignition to help women press pause, re-evaluate the "hamster wheel" of chronic doing that is unsustainable and sidelining their health, and instead choose ways of doing and being that elevate their performance. In its three parts, using exercises, questions, tips and women’s stories, readers craft their own path through Ignition’s elements, ultimately creating a customized ninety-day action plan for energizing and burnout-proofing their ways of living. A multiple sclerosis diagnosis indirectly led Chris to launching her health coaching career: she has been relapse-free for over 12 years.
While attending graduate school, Teri assisted young adult job seekers with a history in the criminal justice system with resume and interview preparation at the Center for Employment Opportunities, tutored adults at the 1199 Adult Learning Center and tutored adult immigrants in history and government at Pathways to Graduation. She was also a judge for the Quality of Life Innovations Scholarship Competition for high school students. Last summer she attended the Alzheimer’s Forum in Washington D.C. with the New York delegation as an advocate/ambassador. She met with legislative staff members for Senator Charles Schumer and U.S. Representatives Joe Crowley, Grace Meng, Dan Donovan, Carolyn Maloney and Tom Suozzi to discuss funding needs for Alzheimer's.
Teri is in her final year as a graduate student at Hofstra University where she has maintained a 4.0 GPA. She completed an internship at LaGuardia Community College and was inducted into Delta Kappa Pi, the international honor society for educators.
Sergeant David Rice (MACJ 08) has been named to the Criminal Justice Department Advisory Board at Greenfield Community College.
Sergeant Rice has been with the Greenfield (MA) Police Department since Febuary1999. As a patrol officer, Sgt. Rice served as a Field Training Officer, was the department’s first downtown business district officer and served on the Department’s Special Response Team. He was promoted to sergeant in July 2012. He is assigned to the evening as Watch Commander and Supervises the Department’s Field Training Program.
Sergeant Rice is a 2012 graduate of the New England Association of Chiefs of Police and Justice System Training & Research Institute Eighty-hour Command Training Series: First Line Supervisor Course. Sergeant Rice holds a Masters Degree of Arts in Criminal Justice with a Post Graduate Certificate in the Prevention of Domestic Violence from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He received the 2008 Gerald T. Hotaling Award for Outstanding Research for his capstone research on predominant aggressor policy. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Sigma the National Criminal Justice Honor Society. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Sgt. Rice is certified by Municipal Police Training Committee to instruct Domestic Violence, Applied Patrol Procedures, and the response to Active Shooters.
Sgt. Rice received several awards including the 2008 Criminal Justice Award for Outstanding Victim Advocacy given by the Massachusetts Office of Victim’s Assistance. This award is given yearly to a singular person in the criminal justice field for their work with victims of crime and a Peace Award in 2003 from Massachusetts Rural Domestic Violence Project and Massachusetts Department of Public Health. This award is given yearly to a member of law enforcement for outstanding service in the fight against domestic violence. Sgt. Rice has been issued several department commendations and two life-saving awards.