EOPSS, State Police Announce Command Staff Promotions
Lieutenant Colonel Marian J. McGovern has been promoted to Deputy Superintendent, the second-in-command of the department. Lieutenant Colonel McGovern most recently served as commander of the Division of Standards and Training, the division which oversees the State Police Academy, the Internal Affairs Section, and in-service training programs.
Additionally, Francis J. Matthews was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and placed in command of the Division of Standards and Training. Lieutenant Colonel Matthews most recently served in a command position within the department's Division of Investigative Services, overseeing several investigative units.
"Deputy McGovern and Lieutenant Colonel Matthews continue a tradition of superb leadership within the State Police," Secretary Burke said. "Their counsel and input will be valuable to Colonel Delaney and me as we continue to meet the myriad public safety and security challenges that law enforcement agencies face in today's world."
Colonel Delaney said: "Lieutenant Colonel McGovern and Lieutenant Colonel Matthews each have the experience and skills necessary to assume the essential roles of deputy superintendent and commander of the Division of Standard and Training, respectively. Their devotion to the State Police is unwavering, and their work ethic unmatched. I will rely on those qualities to assist in leading this department into the new year and beyond."
Lieutenant Colonel McGovern is the first woman to be named deputy superintendent of the department. She replaces as deputy superintendent Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Walsh, who retired in December after 30 years of service to the State Police.
Lieutenant Colonel McGovern developed and instituted the AMBER Alert program for the state of Massachusetts, and served as the state's first AMBER Alert coordinator. She began her career with the State Police in 1979 as a trooper assigned to patrol duties. She served for 20 years in the Worcester County State Police Detective Unit, investigating homicides, narcotics crimes, sexual assaults, child abuse and white-collar crimes. Among the cases she helped investigate was the disappearance in 2000 of teenager Molly Bish, who was later determined to have been murdered. Lieutenant Colonel McGovern is a former instructor at the State Police Academy, where she developed curricula to train officers in investigating sexual assaults, child abuse and child exploitation. She is also a former commander of the department's Public Affairs Unit.
Lieutenant Colonel Matthews joined the State Police in 1982 and began his career with patrol assignments in the Grafton and Holden barracks. He later served in the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Squad, the Boston Youth Violence Strike Force, the Middlesex County State Police Detective Unit, and the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Attorney General's Office. He formerly served as deputy division commander of the Division of Investigative Services. Lieutenant Colonel Matthews previously served on the commission that investigated the death in prison of former priest John Geoghan in 2003 and on the team assigned to review the operations of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in 2007.