Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña raised eyebrows when he named William Castro as the city’s acting police chief in October 2023.
Castro was the mayor’s chief of staff and previously worked two decades a correctional officer for the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.
“There was great concern considering his background wasn’t in policing,” said Chris Ryan, president of the New England Police Benevolent Association, which represents both the supervisors and patrolmen police unions in Lawrence.
Months later, the Massachusetts POST Commission suspended Castro’s certification after he engaged in the vehicle chase of a suspect who was wanted for writing a bad check, according to the law enforcement oversight agency…