Select Board appoints four new police officers

Feb 27, 2023

Four new officers have been added to the Dartmouth Police Department’s ranks. 

At its Feb. 27 meeting, the Select Board voted unanimously to extend conditional job offers to Matthew Desrosiers, Ethan Sherman, Brandon McNeil, and Alex Tisdelle.

“We up here have no better job than to see people rise to the occasion of public service,” Select Board Member Shawn McDonald said. “The job isn’t perceived to be one of the best, but know this: the people of this community have your back 100%.”

Desrosiers is a five-year veteran of the New Bedford Police Department, where he most recently worked as a detective. Prior to becoming a police officer, he worked as a social worker with the state’s Department of Children and Families.

Sherman is a 2017 graduate of Dartmouth High and a 2021 graduate of UMass Dartmouth, where he received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

McNeil is a 2018 graduate from Dartmouth High, where he was on the football team and track and field team. He currently works at the Bristol County Sheriff’s as a correctional officer — graduating from its academy this past December.

Tisdelle is also a local boy, graduating from Dartmouth High in 2016. He went on to attend Framingham State University and UMass Dartmouth, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in crime and justice studies. He has also managed afterschool programs at Westport Elementary School, helping to create its school news program.

According to Police Chief Brian Levesque, as part of the offer the new officers will need to complete training at Plymouth Police Academy. Since Desrosiers already has police experience, he will be exempt from attending.

Levesque told the Select Board he hopes the new officers can begin their training in May.

“I know it’s a long, arduous process,” Select Board Member Heidi Brooks said. “I hope you’re all running now and lifting things.”