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Date: 1/17/2022
LUDLOW – After two days of interviews with nine candidates on Jan. 10 and Jan. 11, the Ludlow Board of Selectmen named four new police officers and two alternates. In order of ranking, the new officers are Paulo Carvalho, Benjamin Taylor, David Krok and Geovanny Tirado. The two alternates are Zachary Warner and Darian Saraiva.
After the interviews, Police Chief Daniel Valadas said he thought Carvalho, Krok and Taylor were the top candidates.
“These three candidates all have four-year degrees. Mr. Carvalho is bilingual, Ben Taylor is our intern and currently a dispatcher so he is already a town employee. I thought Mr. Krok, who is not a traditional candidate, he is closer to middle age, and therefore he has a certain amount of life experience,” he said. “Those three were above the rest.”
Valadas also spoke highly of Tirado and Warner.
“I did feel Mr. Tirado, being bilingual, being already a basic EMT – which is a very related skill – and he is in a paramedic program, he is a young man with a bright future. Mr. Warner being one of the veterans here, I thought he also had a decent interview, I thought it speaks to his character that he presented a stressful situation where he was awarded a state citation, I think that has some bearing,” he said.
Board member Derek DeBarge stated the board’s recommendations by saying he was impressed with Carvalho.
“Mr. Carvalho is one that I scored high. I was impressed with his demeanor, I was impressed with his answers, his education is there, public health, working in the ER, all good factors for transitioning into law enforcement. ER more so than the medical aspect of it too, Baystate ER you see a lot of stuff, so I think it is good experience,” he said.
Board Vice Chair Antonio Goncalves said he was impressed with Krok’s life experience and communication skills.
“I think the communication skills are first and foremost, today just about every candidate said there has to be de-escalation, there has to be the ability to measure each circumstance individually and know which way to tackle it if it is a bad guy, good guy or maybe somebody who has a psychological problem,” he said. “I think Mr. Krok probably in that particular instance is probably going to have the best grip on life in general and how to get a call and assess it the best way.”
Board member Manuel Silva said he was in favor of following Valadas’ recommendations.
“I take great stock in what the police chief recommends as well as the other police officers that interview the candidates, they know what they are doing. Going back to what the police chief said I have absolutely no problem because my ratings actually came just like that with the top three candidates,” he said.
Board member James Gennette said he was impressed with Carvalho’s and Taylor’s education.
“My first go-to was education, up until the interviews today, I would have said that Mr. Carvalho was our ace, he was the complete package and he had everything going and that is until Mr. Taylor stepped in. His education – a BS in criminal justice and all the certifications he had – he just blew me out of the water with what he had, so those are my first two candidates,” he said. “On top of that they both brought some relative experience level.”
Select Board Chair Bill Rosenblum said he respected the effort Tirado puts into finding a work-life balance between his family, ongoing education and job.
“I think there is a lot there to be said about the life-work balance that you bring and the fact that your family life and how you have come up through the years and the fact you are pursuing what you are pursuing, I admire that a lot,” he said.
Other than three 4-1 votes, the board unanimously appointed the four police officers and two alternates.
The Ludlow Board of Selectmen next met on Jan. 18 and coverage of that meeting will appear in the Jan. 27 edition of The Reminder.