Tuesday kicked off a new era for the New Bedford Police Department as Mayor Jon Mitchell announced the appointment of Jason Thody as the city’s chief of police.

Thody, who says he believes transparency will be the key to success for the department, has a 28-year career in law enforcement.

Most recently, he was chief of police in Hartford, Connecticut, from 2019 to 2024. During that time, violent crime in the city fell 31%.

See more at wpri.com.