Tag: Brookline Police Department

  • Debbie Hatzieleftheriadis made history in Brookline, and hasn’t stopped giving back

    Debbie Hatzieleftheriadis made history in Brookline, and hasn’t stopped giving back

    Debbie Hatzieleftheriadis holds her Black Excellence on the Hill award. Photo by Eli Pekelny

    Everything fell into place after Debbie Hatzieleftheriadis saw an ad in the paper.

    The ad was recruiting people for the Brookline Police Department. At the time, the mother of five was coaching her kids’ sports teams and serving as the president of Brookline High School’s Parent Teacher Organization. 

    “I thought, ‘Maybe I could do it,’” Hatzieleftheriadis said. “I didn’t take it seriously.”

    After passing the police entrance exam and becoming an officer in 1998, Hatzieleftheriadis participated in a leadership initiative for high schoolers, led the anti-drug DARE program and ran a youth basketball camp. 

    “I loved my job,” Hatzieleftheriadis said. “I absolutely loved it.”

    Hatzieleftheriadis, who retired in 2014 following a back injury, made town history as Brookline’s first Black female police officer, an accolade that would pave the road to her receiving the 2026 Black Excellence on the Hill award.

    The award honored over 100 Black trailblazers in February, all nominated by representatives and senators from across Massachusetts. Hatzieleftheriadis was nominated by State Rep. Tommy Vitolo, whose district includes part of Brookline.

    “Debbie has paved the way for a new set of police officers who represent a far broader spectrum of people in our community,” Vitolo said. “She’s since retired from the police force, but she hasn’t retired from contributing to our town.”

    The 64-year-old currently serves as a town Constable, a Town Meeting member, and a Parks and Recreation Commissioner. At one point, Hatzieleftheriadis drove buses for the Senior Center. 

    Moreover, she is the former president of Friends of Larz Anderson Park, a local group that defends and highlights Hatzieleftheriadis’s favorite park.

    “Anything that I do, I don’t do it for the praise,” Hatzieleftheriadis said. “I do it because I care.”

    How she came to be

    As a young girl, Hatzieleftheriadis lived in Boston before moving to Brookline. The daughter of a Black father and a white mother, Hatzieleftheriadis described Boston as having “a lot of racial tension.” 

    When Hatzieleftheriadis’ single mother heard about the quality of the schools in Brookline, the family moved into a rent-controlled apartment in Brookline Village. 

    In kindergarten, Hatzieleftheriadis met Tracey Barney. To this day, Barney considers themselves to be “besties.” 

    “Everybody knows Debbie, and everybody loves her,” Barney said. “They think she’s a wonderful person. You never hear anybody say anything about her ever.”

    In high school, Hatzieleftheriadis played basketball, softball and, above all else, soccer. She called herself an “all-scholastic, all-American soccer player.” 

    She graduated in 1980 and was inducted to the Brookline High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024 for her achievements in sports. Now she’s on the board that selects the inductees for the BHS Athletic Hall of Fame.

    These days, Hatzieleftheriadis’ sports of choice are yoga and weightlifting.

    “It took me a little while to embrace the slower, meditative stuff, because I’ve always been really busy,” Hatzieleftheriadis said. “It gives me that opportunity to slow down and really rest and really cherish my body. I’m used to beating it up.”

    Hatzieleftheriadis isn’t the only athlete — or public servant — in her family. Two of her five children are firefighters. One of her eight grandchildren plays hockey at BHS. 

    “I go to all his games,” Hatzieleftheriadis said with pride.

    Hatzieleftheriadis’ second eldest son, Harry Hatzieleftheriadis, is one of the firefighters in the family. He also owns a pizza shop called Ziggy’s in Brighton. Harry said he and his family members have always known about Hatzieleftheriadis’ selflessness.

    “She can’t sit still,” Harry said. “Whether it’s the Town Meeting, whether it’s PTO stuff, whether it’s working at the Senior Center, she’s always doing stuff that is not self-serving… That’s really what makes her so special.”

    Family is important to Hatzieleftheriadis. That’s why, she said, it hurts when she sees them targeted because of their ethnicity.

    Diversity in the police force

    Like other members of her family, Hatzieleftheriadis has experienced racial profiling. When she was a kid, people would clutch their bags as she walked by. Sometimes people would even follow her around stores.

    “When you’re a person of color, you have to work harder, and that’s just a fact,” Hatzieleftheriadis said. “We face things that white people don’t face.”

    When George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, Hatzieleftheriadis had already retired. She said that she wished she could have been able to help address the distrust between civilians and police that continues to this day.

    “There are no good police officers that agree with what happened with George Floyd or with police brutality,” Hatzieleftheriadis said.

    Diversity of all kinds at the police station is one of the ways that tension can be lessened, Hatzieleftheriadis said.

    “Because of the world, Black people traditionally can be afraid of police officers,” Hatzieleftheriadis said. “To see a brown face come to your door and to understand the camaraderie there and to be able to be empathetic there — I think it’s really important to have that.”

    To Hatzieleftheriadis, we’re all really alike. 

    “When you strive to be the best that you can be and you achieve things, other people see that,” Hatzieleftheriadis said.

    This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • Brookline housing groups team up for third holiday toy drive

    Two Brookline housing organizations are banding together for the third time to bring holiday cheer to children of families in need.

    The Brookline Housing Authority and the Brookline Community Development Corporation organized their annual Brookline Holiday Toy Drive to provide toys to low-income families.

    “This is the time of the year where it’s just beautiful when people can come together and have something to celebrate,” said Danielle Mendola, the BHA’s resident services program director. “[It’s great] to see your kid’s face light up when they get something fun, and not just the basic needs.”

    Donations are being accepted through Dec. 15 at five drop boxes: at the Brookline Police Department, United Parish and the three Public Library of Brookline branches. The BCDC also accepts online donations  to go toward buying gift cards for families so they can shop for gifts themselves.

    The organizations host holiday parties to distribute the donated toys to parents, who can choose which toys to give to their children. The BCDC is hosting a holiday party for BHA residents Dec. 22 at United Parish.

    BCDC Board President Deborah Brown said the organizations aim to create a “party atmosphere” for families to forget what’s going on in their lives for a short time. 

    She said the toy drive is more important now than ever, and she wants more residents in Brookline to know what their donations are helping.

    “I’ve talked to some people, and they get it. They get that kids should have Christmas,” Brown said. “What they don’t get is that we’re doing this because people are housing insecure. They’re now food insecure. They’re going to be weather insecure and mental health stressed.”

    Brown discussed various factors that make the holidays challenging for families, such as the inclement weather and the juggling of utilities payments as a result. She said this year, food and housing insecurity have become larger problems, given the delay on SNAP payments last month and threats to funding for Section 8, the rental assistance program.

    The BHA and BCDC are both members of the Brookline Community Foundation-led coalition to combat the SNAP delays in Brookline.

    BHA Executive Director Ben Stone said with challenges to the social safety net, the toy drive is a way to bring people joy when they are under strain.

    “Brookline is, overall, an affluent community, and we want to make sure that our residents can also participate alongside their classmates in the holiday season,” Stone said.

    The Brookline Police Department, Public Library of Brookline and AFSCME Local 1358, the union representing various Town of Brookline employees, are also partners on the toy drive.

    Jessica Steytler, a librarian at the Brookline Village library and a member of AFSCME, said the drive is an important way to help those who are struggling from “falling deeper into dark places,” especially during the holiday season when there are expectations around gift giving. 

    She said it’s been “really gratifying” to see the library’s donation box fill up quickly after she empties donations to make room.

    “As a union member, it is really important to me to provide assistance because as a collective unit, we can do more together than an individual can,” Steytler said. “That’s the spirit of the union, and so it’s really important to show what good the union can do.”

    David Hill, a lieutenant in community relations for BPD, said this is the department’s second year doing the housing organizations’ toy drive after collaborating with Toys for Tots for several years. He said the department wanted to focus its efforts more on the Brookline community as opposed to working with a regional partner.

    “We did want to make sure that our efforts were going to help people in our communities, people that we already have a relationship with, people that might be in need in times around the holidays,” Hill said.

    Brown said the drive is a way to make those who are struggling feel like they’re part of the community. What reminds her why she does the drive each year is the father who arrives to pick up toys five minutes after closing because he just got off work, or the parents eating holiday cookies at the party, enjoying a much-needed moment of rest.

    “We just want people to have some sense of hope and know that their neighbors care,” Brown said. “It’s not just a toy drive. It’s saying, ‘Your neighbors see you. Your neighbors care about you.’”

    This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • Police chief, immigration advocate and civic leader named Brookline’s ‘Women of the Year’

    Chief of Police Jennifer Paster is named one of the Brookline Women of the Year. Photo by Charlie Johnson

    Brookline Police Chief Jennifer Paster, immigration advocate Jessica Chicco and civic leader Anne Meyers were honored Wednesday night as Brookline’s Women of the Year.

    The annual event – which drew dozens of people to Hunneman Hall in the Brookline Public Library– began with a tribute to former Massachusetts first lady Kitty Dukakis, who lived in Brookline and died last Friday.

    “She was one of the best of us among women in Brookline,” said Elizabeth Stillman, chair of the Brookline Commission for Women.

    Each of Wednesday’s honorees received a citation from State Senator Cynthia Stone Creem, an orchid, and an crystal star with their name engraved.

    Paster, who grew up in Brookline and started working at the Brookline Police Department in 2000, is the first woman to serve as its chief.

    “It really was a humbling experience, and I am so appreciative of the recognition,” she said in an interview.

    Paster said her parents inspired her to pursue a career in public service. Her father was a custodian in Brookline schools, and her mother was a full-time mom of eight children. Both parents died of lung cancer a couple years ago.

    “My parents were big on showing appreciation and giving something back,” she said.

    John VanScoyoc, vice chair of the Brookline select board, said he was happy to see Paster honored.

    “There are people in Brookline who believe so intensely in Jen Paster,” he said. “There’s a special place in my heart for Jen.”

    Chicco, the director of training at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, has served immigrant communities throughout her career. She has set up citizenship clinics and has trained volunteers on Know Your Rights sessions.

    “I never quite feel like what I do is enough or could ever really be enough,” she said in her speech. “But what is being recognized tonight is not really me. It’s the importance of the work I do, and I’m lucky enough to do it everyday with my incredibly devoted colleagues at the MIRA coalition.”

    In Brookline, she chairs the Immigrants Advancement Committee of the Commission for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Relations, which helped create the towns’ sanctuary policy.

    Immigration assistance, she said, is her life’s work.

    “I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it,” she said in an interview. “Despite all the rhetoric about the U.S. being a country of immigrants, it’s always been a challenge for folks, and this is not the first time that as a country we’ve been in dark places with regards to how we treat our immigrant communities.”

    Meyers, 78, who chairs the Economic Development Advisory Board, has worked in public service for 30 years in roles such as deputy director of development for the Massachusetts Port Authority. She was traveling and unable to attend Wednesday’s event. Her son, David, accepted the award for her.

    “I feel both honored and qualified to accept this award on my mom’s behalf,” David Meyers said in his remarks. “I worked with her wisdom, her guidance and her love for many years.”

    He read from the letter his mother wrote for the event. “I didn’t reach this stage in my life without the help and support of a huge number of people, my village,” she wrote.

    Anne Meyers reflected on the honor in a phone interview from Palm Springs, California.

    “I learned from my parents, who were not in Brookline, but did all kinds of community work while I was growing up,” she said. “I think that passing this on and being an example for people in future generations is important now more than ever.”

    Mindy Paulo, a 2024 honoree who is the director of Brookline’s English language education, made closing remarks about the significance of the women of the year event and commended the newest honorees.

    “These women don’t just serve Brookline,” she said. “They elevate it.”

    This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.