59° and Clear
Image
Image capture from Westwood Media Center broadcast, Select Board - 07/17/26. Deputy Superintendent Russell O'Neill answers questions during his interview with Westwood Select Board on Friday, July 17, 2026.
7-21-2026 12:40am
Westwood Select Board Appoints Russell O'Neill as Next Chief of Police, Pending Contract Negotiations
Darlene Cancell
Editor
By a vote of 2-1, Westwood Select Board decided on Monday, June 20, at Westwood Public Library, to appoint Russell O’Neill, deputy superintendent with the Community Service Division of Brookline Police Department, to the position of police chief of the Town of Westwood Police Department, subject to background screening and successful contract negotiations.
Both Select Board member Joe Previtera and Clerk Erin Sibley named Deputy Superintendent O'Neill as their candidate of choice. They remarked on his current leadership of staff in Brookline that is several times the size of Westwood Police Department, his military service and leadership, and his years of experience. Mr. Previtera was also impressed by Deputy Superintendent O’Neill’s enthusiasm for the position, and Ms. Sibley commented on his thoughtful interview and knowledge of the town.
Select Board Chair Marianne LeBlanc Cummings opened the deliberations by announcing Acting Chief Michael DiLalla, an internal candidate, as her choice to fill the open position.
Regarding Acting Chief DiLalla, Ms. Cummings noted that he had earned the top score of all three candidates in the assessment center testing conducted by the town's consultants, and has extensive experience and knowledge of the town and Westwood Police Department.
Ms. Sibley commented that her initial preference was for an internal candidate, but she said an internal survey of Westwood Police Department indicated dissatisfaction by over 30 percent of staff members who responded. She said she would have liked Acting Chief DiLalla to acknowledge during his interview that this was a problem that needed to be addressed.
In response, Ms. Cummings noted what she perceived as an increase of morale within Westwood Police Department under Acting Chief DiLalla's interim leadership. She pointed to the largest showing of a "sea of blue" at the town's annual Memorial Day event in her experience, and to feedback in her conversations with members of the department. Ms. Cummings also stated her belief that failure to promote the internal candidate, given his strong performance relative to the other candidates, would demoralize department members and risk losing them, because there are few opportunities for promotion in Westwood.
“Lieutenant DiLalla outperformed the competition. And to not hire the internal candidate under all of those circumstances I think would be a huge hit to the morale and a mistake as far as the future of the department,” said Ms. Cummings.
Mr. Previtera emphasized that the many years of experience held by Deputy Superintendent O'Neill was a decisive factor in his vote.
"I'm going to go back to that continuum of years in service, years in rank, and experience," he said. “What we need is a little tincture of time. And I’ll be honest. I think that’s what Mike DiLalla needs. There’s absolutely no doubt that he’ll be a chief. . . Stacked up against these three candidates, it wasn’t time, is what I saw. And I saw a candidate with so many encounters, so much experience, so much deliberate and conscious thought process during our interviews, I’m going to stick with Deputy Superintendent O’Neill.”
Following Mr. Previtera’s statement at the end of about 45 minutes of discussion, Ms. Cummings accepted a motion by Ms. Sibley to appoint Deputy Superintendent O’Neill to the position of chief of police of Westwood Police department, contingent the success of background screening and contract negotiations. Mr. Previtera seconded the motion.
Mr. Previtera and Ms. Sibley voted to approve motion. Ms. Cummings voted against the motion. The outcome was that the motion was approved, 2-1.
On a motion to allow the town administrator to negotiate a contract with Deputy Superintendent O’Neill, all three Select Board members voted in favor, 3-0.
