Two new Lincoln police officers sworn in

Joe Pellegrini and Matthew Armata became Lincoln’s two newest police officers after being sworn in by Town Clerk Susan Brooks on June 30.

The new arrivals succeed Officer Robert Gallo, who retired last year after serving in Lincoln for 32 years, and Officer Robert Surette, a 14-year Lincoln veteran who took a new position with the Harvard University Police in October 2016. Armata and Pellegrini are the first officers hired in Lincoln since Matthew Forance, who joined the force in 2014, according to Police Chief Kevin Kennedy.

Pellegrini, 25, is not new to the Lincoln force—he was promoted after being hired as a 911 dispatcher in early 2016. He has a master’s degree in criminal justice studies from UMass–Dartmouth and was a dispatcher at Framingham State University before coming to Lincoln.

Armata is 26 and holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice studies from Fitchburg State University. He previously worked for an investment management company and the Boston Red Sox security staff, but “he always wanted to be a police officer,” Kennedy said. Both men beat out a lot of competition for their posts—there were more than 100 candidates for the two positions, he added.

Pellegrini and Armata are now doing a 10-week in-house training with more senior Lincoln police officers, “learning the town and procedures,” Kennedy said.