Veteran Boston Police officer Kenneth Fong was named to the captain’s post of Area A-1 on Wednesday – less than four months after James Hasson assumed the position.
“People living in the district are lucky to have Kenneth Fong as their new captain,” Hasson said of his successor. “He’s very approachable and smart, and he has a lot of experience.”
Fong was raised in Brighton and joined the department more than 21 years ago. He last served as its superintendent of Internal Affairs and Bureau of Professional Standards.
Hasson, meanwhile, has been transferred to the department’s Bureau of Field Services, where he will serve under Bernie O’Rourke, the former Area A-1 captain who was promoted from deputy superintendent to bureau superintendent last week.
Hasson, a 25-year Boston Police veteran who served as Area A-1’s shift commander from 1998 to 2004, said he would miss working in the district.
“When I started working in Area- A-1 again, I already had some knowledge of the constituency, and I was excited to work with them to help resolve their problems,” Hasson said. “The new administration wants to move in another direction, though.”
According to the Jan. 15 edition of The Boston Globe, Fong and Hasson were transferred as part of a department-wide restructuring that William Evans, the newly appointed police commissioner, anticipated would “result in the most diverse command staff in department history.”
Paula O’Keeffe, chair of the Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA) Safety Committee, said Hasson’s departure from Area A-1 was unexpected.
“We had Captain Hasson for us for such short period of time, but since he worked here previously here, he fit right in, and it felt like he had been here for a long time,” O’Keeffe said. “We shall miss them.”
O’Keeffe also welcomed Fong to his new position.
“I understand that Captain Fong worked as a sergeant in the district, so he should know the area,” O’Keeffe said. “We look forward to meeting him.”
Fong couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.