News Stories

BPD Appoints And Promotes New Lieutenant, Sergeant and Special Police Officer

Chief Thomas Browne was before the Select Board at their November 27 meeting to request approvals for positions that have become open due to the retirement of Lieutenant Detective Michael McDade on December 23 following his 30 years of service. Public safety Consultants LLC, an independent company, performed the assessment of the candidates.   

Chief Browne recommended Sergeant Christopher DiDonato for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant. DiDonato was a graduate of Burlington High School before going on to UMass Amherst to earn a Bachelors in Criminal Justice. He served in the National Guard as an Infantry Sergeant with combat experience in Afghanistan. 

“The department has been the ultimate beneficiary as he has brought his military training, experience and discipline to the department,” Chief Browne said.  

DiDonato has been with BPD since 2012, a member of the NEMLEC SWAT since 2018, and is currently serving as the Vice-President of NEMLEC.

Brown also recommended Officer Vito Costa for promotion to Sergeant. Costa graduated from Burlington High School and has been with BPD since 2007 after serving as a sergeant with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. 

“He’s always been thorough and gained the trust and respect of his peers and supervisors through his work ethic and knowledge base,” Browne said.

Since 2020 Costa has served as the School Resource Officer (SRO) for Marshall Simonds Middle School. Since August he has served in a dual capacity overseeing the SROs in both the high school and middle school. He’s been an invaluable asset to the Burlington School District in institutionalizing the Standard Response Protocol for emergency response within Burlington schools, Browne said.

Browne also recommended, upon his retirement, Lieutenant Detective Michael McDade to Special Police Officer as of December 24. McDade has been with the BPD since 1993 and served in the Traffic Division. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2003 and became the Community Service Sergeant responsible for firearms licensing and other duties. McDade also served as the department’s prosecutor for a time . 

“[McDade] was able to put the department on much better footing in the district court system by increasing our professionalism and attention to detail in all court related matters,” stated Chief Browne.  

McDade was promoted to Lieutenant in 2014 before being selected as Lieutenant Detective in 2018, overseeing numerous high profile cases.  

The Select Board approved all three appointments 5-0-0.