Hingham Select Board Approves Two Lateral Police Officers in Same-Night Vote

HINGHAM — June 10, 2026 — Hingham Select Board fast-tracks two lateral police hires in unanimous same-night vote. Departing from its standard practice of voting at a second meeting, the three-member board — Chair Liz Klein, Julie Straley, and Bill Ramsey — interviewed and immediately approved conditional offers for Evan J. Barbera, a three-year officer from the West Hartford, Connecticut Police Department, and Brendan G. Dabrile, a five-year officer from the Provincetown Police Department and Army National Guard sergeant. Both grew up on the South Shore. Klein cited department vacancies and the candidates' qualifications as reasons to accelerate the timeline, noting that as lateral transfers both could complete an abbreviated field-training program and be deployed on patrol this summer rather than waiting the year-plus a traditional hire would require. Each offer is contingent on medical, psychological, and physical-abilities screenings, and is tied to a $4,650 training-fee repayment clause enforceable for five years. Ramsey noted that both candidates independently identified communication as the most important quality in a police officer — "given what police officers deal with," he said, calling it "a great answer."