Methuen names Jamie Moore acting police chief ahead of Aug. 24 retirement
Methuen has named Captain James “Jamie” Moore as acting police chief ahead of Chief Scott J. McNamara’s scheduled retirement on Aug. 24, 2026.
Mayor D.J. Beauregard announced that Moore will assume the acting role when McNamara’s retirement takes effect. The appointment establishes who will lead the Methuen Police Department during the transition, while the city searches for a permanent successor.
Moore will take over Aug. 24
Moore’s appointment is not a permanent-chief selection. The city’s announcement identifies him as acting chief and says Methuen plans to conduct a search for the next permanent police chief.
That distinction leaves the department’s long-term leadership undecided. The official materials do not name finalists or provide a start date, process or deadline for the permanent-chief search. They also do not say how long Moore is expected to remain in the acting position.
Until Aug. 24, McNamara remains the chief identified in the city’s announcement. On that date, the announcement says, McNamara is scheduled to retire and Moore’s appointment will become effective.
Moore has been with the department since 1993
Moore’s career with the Methuen Police Department began in 1993. He started in the department’s dispatch division before becoming a police officer.
He currently commands the Special Services and Professional Standards Bureau. The city also said Moore was the top-ranked candidate on the Massachusetts Civil Service eligibility list for promotion to captain.
Those details describe Moore’s experience inside the department and the basis for his current rank. They do not indicate that he has been chosen as the permanent chief. That decision remains tied to the future search announced by the city.
What the transition means for Methuen
The immediate local consequence is a change in the police department’s top command. The city has identified an interim leader before the incumbent chief’s retirement, reducing uncertainty about who is scheduled to take responsibility on Aug. 24.
The announcement does not describe changes to department staffing, policing operations, public-facing programs or policies. It establishes the leadership arrangement but does not provide additional details about how the department will operate during the interim period.
The Methuen Police Department is the city’s official police agency. Its department materials identify the agency and its public-facing programs, while the appointment announcement identifies the mayor, the retiring chief and Moore in connection with the leadership change.
Permanent chief search remains ahead
Methuen’s next known step is a search for a permanent police chief. The city has not announced when that process will begin, how candidates will be evaluated or when a final appointment could be made.
The announcement was published by the City of Methuen in August 2026, but the precise publication date was not displayed in the retrieved official page text. No independent local-news confirmation of the appointment was included in the approved materials.
For now, the confirmed timeline is limited: McNamara’s scheduled retirement and Moore’s effective date are both Aug. 24, 2026, followed by a permanent-chief search with no publicly specified deadline in the available announcement.
Sources
- Mayor Beauregard Appoints Captain Jamie Moore as Acting Chief of Police, City of Methuen
- Police Department, City of Methuen
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