BCAT News

Two Burlington Police Officers were up for promotion at the recent Select Board meeting. Chief Thomas Browne who usually makes these recommendations was unable to attend the meeting. Deputy Chief Robert Kirchner handled the requests in his absence.

Kirchner asked for the promotion of detectives Patrick Lyons and Christopher Kelly to the rank of sergeant. 

Patrick Lyons, grew up in Burlington and graduated from Westfield State University in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. From 2013 to 2014 he was with the Laconia Police Department, transferred to Boston University in 2014 and joined the Burlington Police in 2015. Lyons started out as a patrolman and during his time with the BPD has served as a field training officer, a traffic safety officer and criminal detective. For the past few years he has stepped up to work as a youth services detective assigned to the high school.

The second candidate, Christopher Kelly grew up in Watertown and graduated from UMass Lowell with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 2012. He is currently working on his masters in public administration at the University of New Haven. Kelly was a police officer on Nantucket for 8 years where he served 5 years as a patrolman then as a detective for 3 years, coming to Burlington in 2021. In Kelly’s first two and half years with Burlington Police he served as a patrolman, a field training officer and assistant technology officer. For the last year Kelly has served as the technology detective working on internet crime.   

To the applause of friends and family the Select Board unanimously approved both officers for promotion to the rank sergeant.