AMESBURY — A new face will soon be patrolling the streets as the Amesbury Police Department recently welcomed Officer Abel Trejo to its roster.
“He’s going to be a great addition to this department,” police Chief Craig Bailey said.
Mayor Kassandra Gove said she is excited to have Trejo’s “unique blend of experience” joining the department.
“With a distinguished background in both military service and law enforcement, Officer Trejo offers a wealth of expertise and a deep understanding of discipline, leadership, and strategic operations,” Gove said.
Trejo transferred to the Amesbury Police Department on July 19 from the Lawrence Police Department where he had been serving since 2022.
He comes with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from Merrimac College in 2021, and served his country as a sergeant with the U.S. Air Force from 2011 to 2017.
“This combination of experiences makes him exceptionally well-suited to uphold the highest standards of public safety and service, and we are confident that his addition to Chief Bailey’s team will enhance our capability to serve our community effectively and compassionately,” Gove said.
Bailey said the addition of Trejo brings his roster to 32 officers, a big step towards where he sees the department.
“We should have 33 officers. We’re gonna work on getting to our 33 here in the next year or so. It’s my opinion that with all the increase in call activity that we’ve had in Amesbury we could support 35 officers,” Bailey said.
Trejo will be filling a patrol position.
“All the patrol officers have relatively the same requirements and duties, if you will,” Bailey said.
He said that those duties begin with 240 hours of field training working with a veteran local officer.
“Even though he’s coming from a department where he went through field training, we feel here in Amesbury that it’s important that he does his field training with Amesbury,” Bailey said.
The training time will also allow Trejo to familiarize himself with the community.
“Public safety is the number one priority. However, we are very passionate about our community engagement and our community involvement,” Bailey said.
Trejo began his training when he started on July 19. Bailey explained what will come next once it is complete.
“We’ll allow him to get back out on the street and then perform his functions as a patrol officer, which is maintaining the safety and security of the city,” Bailey said.
Bailey said the one thing that has jumped out to him about Trejo since his initial interview with the department is his humility.
“He is a very humble person. When you come into an interview, there’s a very delicate balance on kind of promoting yourself and how you promote yourself, and Abel, just came in with complete grace and humility, was able to kind of talk about what he’s done over the past,” Bailey said.
Gove wished Trejo all the best going forward.
“We welcome Abel to the Amesbury Police Department and wish him a long and prosperous career here in our city,” Gove said.
Abel could not be reached for comment in time for this report.