by David Rondina

Officer Jared LaValle has been with the Northampton Police department since late 2014. He previously worked at a correction center in Worcester. He was brought up with a grandfather in the military and studied Law Enforcement at Springfield Technical Community College after exploring other possible career ideas and studies.  While he started off his employment here “walking the beat” downtown in the cold winter months, he aspired to connect more with the community at large.  When Chief Kasper initiated three responsibility expansions of duty to include “Community Outreach Officers,” he immediately applied for one of the roles.  When spring rolled around and the bicycle patrols starting rolling again downtown, he was given the assignment of “Area 4” which includes downtown Florence and Leeds.

The Belchertown “towny” loves working for the city of Northampton.  “It’s exciting, interesting, and always different” says LaValle, whose favorite part of the job is connecting with people.  “Being a police officer is certainly about helping people, but I really enjoy the interactions and meeting new people, making friends, and connecting deeper with the community.”  LaValle comments that it is not just about fighting crime, but showing that law enforcement is out to make people feel safe, cared for, and develop a “community feel” and not be viewed as “us versus them”.

After I spent some time chatting with him, I can attest that it is a pleasure and gift that we have Officer LaValle to help look after our Village of Leeds.  Following a meeting with the LCA, Chief Kasper and others concerning graffiti on Orange dam, LaValle’s responsibilities expanded to include patrols by the river and along the bike path to help address the lack of respect that some individuals have for our Village’s communal resources. Along with his patrol duties, he plans to attend as many Leeds Civic Association meetings and events as possible as he even enjoyed doing before the actual assignment.  In the mean time, you can often see him working the day shift from 3-11.  Keep an eye out for Officer LaValle and say hello and thanks when you see him around the ‘hood!