Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 41, § 97A (2026)

Police departments; chief of police; powers and duties

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 97A. In any town which accepts this section there shall be a police department established by the selectmen, and such department shall be under the supervision of an officer to be known as the chief of police. The selectmen of any such town shall appoint a chief of police and such other officers as they deem necessary, and fix their compensation, not exceeding, in the aggregate, the annual appropriation therefor. In any such town in which such appointments are not subject to chapter thirty-one, they shall be made annually or for a term of years not exceeding three years, as the selectmen shall determine, and the selectmen may remove such chief or other officers for cause at any time after a hearing. The chief of police in any such town shall from time to time make suitable regulations governing the police department, and the officers thereof, subject to the approval of the selectmen; provided, that such regulations shall become effective without such approval upon the failure of the selectmen to take action thereon within thirty days after they have been submitted to them by the chief of police. The chief of police in any such town shall be in immediate control of all town property used by the department, and of the police officers, whom he shall assign to their respective duties and who shall obey his orders. Section ninety-seven shall not apply in any town which accepts the provisions of this section. Acceptance of the provisions of this section shall be by a vote at an annual town meeting.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 31 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1966–2025 · leading case: Town of Framingham v. Union, 106 N.E.3d 1105 (Mass. App. Ct. 2018).

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Town of Framingham v. Union, 106 N.E.3d 1105 (Mass. App. Ct. 2018). · cites it 8× “We conclude that the transfer and assignment of police officers is within the exclusive managerial authority of the police chief as a *538 matter of public safety pursuant to G. L. c. 41, § 97A, and may not be delegated or contravened through arbitration or collective bargaining.”

Chief of Police of Dracut v. Town of Dracut, 258 N.E.2d 531 (Mass. 1970). · cites it 7× “The chief alleges that the agreement contains provisions which go beyond the authority given to the selectmen by G. L. c. 149, §§ 178G-178N, inserted by St.”

Labor Relations Comm'n v. Town of Natick, 339 N.E.2d 900 (Mass. 1976). · cites it 5× “492 (1970), involving G. L. c. 41, § 97A (the so called “strong” chief law), and in Chief of Police of Westford v.”

Massachusetts Coalition of Police, Local 165 v. Town of Northborough, 620 N.E.2d 765 (Mass. 1993). · cites it 4× “This case presents the question whether a town’s decision not to reappoint a police officer, who had previously been appointed pursuant to G. L. c. 41, § 97A (1992 ed.), is arbitrable under a collective bargaining agreement which provides in art.”

Woodley v. Town of Nantucket, 645 F. Supp. 1365 (D. Mass. 1986). · cites it 3× “M.G.L. c. 41, § 97A. 10 The difficulties with this practice *1373 of inaction are revealed in the case of Officer Pearson.”

Stetson v. Bd. of Selectmen of Carlisle, 343 N.E.2d 382 (Mass. 1976). “* 2 There is no statutory requirement that a police officer in the town be advised of the reason for his discharge or that he be granted a hearing. 3 As so construed, § 97 does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s guaranty of equal protection of the laws.”

City of Lynn v. Labor Relations Comm'n, 681 N.E.2d 1234 (Mass. App. Ct. 1997). “316 — permitting appointments in excess of the three-year term provided by G. L. c. 41, § 97A — was held not to present an arbitrable dispute; “no lawful relief could conceivably be awarded by an arbitrator in this case,” id.”

Town of Andover v. Andover Police Patrolmen's Union, 696 N.E.2d 161 (Mass. App. Ct. 1998). · cites it 2× “41, §§ 97 and 97A, vest similar managerial authority in chiefs of police generally 5 ; and, while G.”

Sheriff of Middlesex Cnty. v. Int'l Bhd. of Corr. Officers, Local R1-193, 821 N.E.2d 512 (Mass. App. Ct. 2005). “252, 255 (1993) (holding that a board of selectmen’s decision not to reappoint a police officer is a nondelegable and nonarbitrable managerial prerogative pursuant to G. L. c. 41, § 97A); Selectmen of Ayer v.”

McNamee v. Jenkins, 754 N.E.2d 740 (Mass. App. Ct. 2001). “The argument is that, since the director of police services has discretion in assigning personnel, G. L. c. 41, § 97A, the plaintiff had no reasonable expectation of staying on the night shift or receiving the salary differential.”

Town of Saugus v. Saugus Pub. Saf. Dispatchers Union, 839 N.E.2d 860 (Mass. App. Ct. 2005). · cites it 3× “On appeal, the union seeks to distinguish Andover and Saugus I on the ground that both involved uniformed officers rather than “civilian” dispatchers, and hence fell within the ambit of G. L. c. 41, § 97A (the so-called “strong chief” statute).”

City of Fall River v. Teamsters Union, Local 526, 541 N.E.2d 1015 (Mass. App. Ct. 1989). “” Section 15 goes on to say, “The administrator shall terminate any provisional promotion if... the person provisionally promoted does not possess the qualifications or satisfy the requirements for the position.”

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