PITTSFIELD — Michael J. Wynn is a trade association’s “chief of the year” for 2022.
The Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association announced on social media that Wynn, a nearly 30-year veteran of the Pittsfield Police Department, had been selected unanimously for an award that “recognizes the police chief that genuinely stood out that year.”
Wynn received the award in Salisbury Dec. 15, when the association gathered with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito for its annual meeting and installation of officers.
In a statement to The Berkshire Eagle, Wynn said there’s been many points in his career that he’s considered the “pinnacle of my professional achievements.”
The first came when he took command of the Pittsfield Police Department as the acting chief in 2007.
The second moment arrived when he received a permanent appointment as chief at Mayor Linda Tyer’s urging in 2017. The third, he said, came when Gov. Charlie Baker asked Wynn to serve on the state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission in 2021.
“However, being recognized by my peers from across the Commonwealth for my work on the POST Commission and in other regards is definitely my pinnacle achievement,” Wynn wrote in a statement Thursday to the Eagle. “Receiving it so soon after announcing my retirement made it that more special.”
Each year the @MAPOLICECHIEFS recognizes the Police Chief that genuinely stood out that year. @PittsfieldPD Chief Michael Wynn was our unanimous selection for 2022. Chief Wynn also serves as the Governor's and Attorney General's selection for the new Massachusetts @PostCommission pic.twitter.com/pTOiyxubia
— Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association (@MAPOLICECHIEFS) December 21, 2022
In a post, the association said that Wynn had distinguished himself serving as the police chief representative to the POST Commission “while continuing to be a leader in our field.”
Wynn announced this month that after 15 years leading the department, he will retire in early July. Wynn’s policing career began in 1995 with the title patrol officer.
Over the last three decades, he’s served as a police instructor for policing institutes and departments throughout the Commonwealth and nation. Wynn’s role on the POST commission will end as he steps back from his job as an active police chief next summer.