NORTHAMPTON — John Cartledge knows he has big shoes to fill.

A lifelong resident of the Northampton area, Cartledge has spent his entire career as a member of the Northampton Police Department, starting as a patrol officer after completing the Agawam Police Academy in 1995. Cartledge rose through the ranks to sergeant, then lieutenant, then captain of operations and administration, all the while rising along with Jody Kasper, another lifelong member of the NPD who became police chief in 2015 and served in the position for eight years.

After Kasper’s departure in January, Cartledge has stepped in to the role to lead the police department, at first being named the interim police chief by Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra and officially sworn in as the new permanent police chief three weeks ago.

Cartledge, a 1989 graduate of Northampton High School, takes over a department that has 60 sworn officers when fully staffed.

“I worked with her [Kasper] for so many years, we had some of the same values and mindset, so I feel like I was there with her, every step of the way as a captain,” Cartledge said in an interview with the Gazette. “She certainly taught me a lot of things, and I’d like to continue the department in a positive step.”

Cartledge expressed a desire for the department to engage in more community outreach and speaking directly with residents to address their needs and issues. Since January, Cartledge has held several “Chat with the Chief” sessions at locations such as the Northampton Senior Center and the Tandem Bagel Company’s Northampton location.

For Cartledge, a restoration of ties between the community and the police department is paramount. He hopes to bring the department from a low point in 2020 when widespread protests were held in the city, as with the rest of the nation, in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Thousands of protesters demonstrated outside the NPD’s Center Street headquarters during that time, and a debate ensued that budget season that ended with the City Council cutting the Police Department budget by 10%.

Though such widespread protests have since dissipated, the department still has found itself under public criticism, such as during the arrest of Marisol Driouech of Holyoke in April 2023. Driouech, who was 60 at the time and was pulled over for a broken headlight, could be seen on dashcam footage being forcefully dragged out and restrained by two officers, who also administered pepper spray and used explicit language on Driouech. A later review by an outside firm cleared the officers of any wrongdoing, but Kasper publicly criticized the officers’ handling of the arrest.

“We need to always continue on with building trust. You can’t just say ‘it’s better now,’ and then do nothing,” Cartledge said. “I want our officers to be professional, transparent and have good interactions with everyone they come across. That’s my philosophy and goal.”

Cartledge also said that the NPD is accredited by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission, meaning it is continuously assessed to ensure the department meets the highest professional standards.

In addition to his community chats, Cartledge says he eventually wants to introduce more programs to build community ties, such as bringing back a “movie night,” where a screen is set up in the police station parking lot where families can bring their children.

“We did that one time, and then COVID happened,” Cartledge said. “I want to bring that back.”

Following the protests of 2020, the city created the Division of Community Care (DCC) to assist with unarmed emergency response to mental health crises, substance abuse and other non-criminal incidents, as an alternative to police presence. Cartledge said that the department is working with the DCC, which officially opened last year, on how to coordinate emergency responses.

“We’ve had numerous meetings with them, and I feel like we’re still figuring out which calls they can go to,” Cartledge said. “I think it’s a good working relationship between us.”

Another prominent issue Cartledge said affecting the department is adequate staffing. The department has struggled with maintaining a full roster in recent years, as fewer people enter police academies and express interest in a profession whose public image has taken a hit over the past decade. At one point under Kasper’s administration, the department had 10 vacant positions, missing one-sixth of the amount of officers the city budgets for.

“People are looking at this job differently now, and it’s hard to recruit people into this profession in this day and age,” Cartledge said. “We have to have so many officers out there for it to be safe, and we have different areas in the city that need to be covered. So if someone calls out sick and we don’t have enough people, someone will be held over from the previous shift.”

Though most of the department’s staffing is now filled thanks to the city allowing more student officers who can be trained to take full-time positions, Cartledge’s previous position, captain of administration, has yet to be filled with a replacement.

Though being police chief generally means more time sitting behind a desk and in meetings, Cartledge said he still goes out on patrol at times and responds to crime scenes, such as an incident that occurred on Nov. 10 when a man allegedly shot a woman in a Florence home. “I’ll try to maintain going out, because that’s good to stay in touch with the outside world,” the chief said.

When he isn’t doing police work, Cartledge is either hiking outdoors, taking care of his twin 11-year-olds, Brennan or Mason, or practicing martial arts, in particular the Chung Do Kwan style of taekwondo.

“That’s the one thing that keeps me sane I think, going to martial arts,” Cartledge said.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.