Cara Rossi of Natick Police Department officially begins her next chapter as the new Police Chief of the Town of Ashland. 

The Town of Ashland hosted a formal swearing in ceremony on Tuesday, July 12, at Town Hall where 30 members of Chief Rossi’s friends and family, members of the Ashland Police Department, and elected officials celebrated her latest achievement. 

The ceremony on Tuesday, July 12th began with an introduction from Town Manager, Michael Herbert saying. Herbert talked about the importance of the position of Police Chief and the public process that ultimately led to Chief Rossi’s hiring. The Town Manager used public surveys and focus groups to develop the candidate profile. Applicants that met the minimum requirements were the forwarded to an independent screening committee, which interviewed the candidates and recommended two finalists to be interviewed by the Town Manager. Rossi and the other candidate, Shirley Police Chief Samuel Santiago, were interviewed publicly and background checks were performed before Herbert ultimately announced Cara Rossi would be the next chief. 

Herbert highlighted some of Chief Rossi’s key attributes, calling her, “an accomplished, hardworking, and resilient professional that has risen through the ranks and put herself in a position to be offered this opportunity”. In reference to some of Chief Rossi’s intangibles, he pointed out that, “she has a unique ability to balance a vision for the department with the positive attributes and ideas of the men and women that currently work there”. 

The ceremony continued with the Town Manager administering the Oath of Office to Chief Rossi, followed with a few words by the Chief, a statement from Karen Adelman-Foster of Senate President Spilka’s office, and concluded with the ceremonial pinning ceremony. 

Chief Rossi issued a statement saying, “Thank you, sincerely, for entrusting me with this opportunity. I will not let you down. To my family, friends, and fellow citizens of Ashland, I want to thank you all for being here. I am both honored and humbled to stand before you tonight as the next Chief of Police for our beloved Town of Ashland. I want you to listen closely. Do you hear that? That is the sound of the glass ceiling shattering. This is a historic night, not only for me, but for women everywhere.” 

The public swearing- in ceremony was recorded and by local cable station, WACA TV, cable channels and social media platforms. 

Chief Rossi joins the Ashland Police Department with 28 years of service as an officer. She is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy. During her tenure with the Natick Police Department, Chief Rossi led the Natick community as a Lieutenant and Commanding Officer for the Community Service and Traffic division and collaborated with community organizations such as Natick 180 and the District Attorney’s High Risk Domestic Violence Task Force.