Lt. Walter Correia tapped to be new police chief

Lt. Walter Correia is in talks to become Wareham’s chief of police after John Walcek — the current chief — retires on April 17.

After a unanimous Board of Selectmen’s vote on April 6, Town Administrator Derek Sullivan has been authorized “to go forward and negotiate a contract” with Correia.  

Correia has been with the department since 1994. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2010, before later being promoted to lieutenant. 

"I've always worked in Wareham and gotten a paycheck in Wareham, but I have more than that. I have my heart in Wareham," Correia said when he was promoted to sergeant. "I want to help this community be a better place for all of us."

Sullivan explained that Correia was on the town’s active civil service list. The civil service list contains candidates who have passed exams and earned high scores that qualify them for positions such as police chief.

“That’s the same list that we used for Chief Walcek, and then the number two person on that list is Lt. Walter Correia,” Sullivan said. 

Sullivan emphasized his support for Correia, saying that both he and Walcek “have the utmost faith in [Correia] and believe he’ll make an excellent chief.” 

Members of the board also expressed their approval of Correia.

“Lt. Correia — career police officer, a very good man and a good cop,” said Selectman Peter Teitelbaum. “So I think he’s an excellent choice.”

Although the board’s vote Tuesday didn’t outright hire Correia, it was an important step in the process, Sullivan said.

“We want to do this because we’ll be losing Chief Walcek, and think it’s important to have the clean transition,” Sullivan said.