News

A fond farewell to D-4's Captain Paul Ivens

by Michele D.  Maniscalco
Thursday Jan 19, 2017

Approximately 100 well-wishers, including city and state elected officials, community group leaders, members of his District 4 team, friends and neighbors filled the room at Cinquecento restaurant, 500 Harrison Avenue, to pay respect and show their gratitude to Captain Paul Ivens of D-4 on his retirement after 37 years of service to the Boston Police Department (BPD).

Despite the number of people, the atmosphere was warm and intimate due to the candid, often funny, sometimes emotional tone of the reminiscences shared by Ivens and his colleagues. Part of that feeling owes to the fact that Captain Ivens and the D-4 team were on duty at the April 13, 2013 Boston Marathon and responded to the crisis of the Boston Marathon Bombing. Also, while it is not unheard of for family members to attend such gatherings, Ivens's farewell included not only his wife but his daughter, Carolyn Ivens, a brand-new BPD officer serving a four-month rotation at District 4.

The celebration of Ivens's long career, its last 7 years being his tenure as captain at BPD District 4 in the South End, Back Bay and the Fenway, was spearheaded by the South End Forum and Steve Fox, with the Aquitaine Group providing the location and hospitality, which included a dinner buffet with cash bar. While Fox called Nancy Wall Farrington of the Friends of Blackstone and Franklin Squares the "force majeure" of the event, Farrington said, "The evening was sponsored by The South End Forum so I told Steve Fox I'd help put it together.

All I did was make some phone calls and collect and keep track of the money. No big deal on my part. Jeff Gates of the Aquitaine Group immediately stepped in and offered to hold the tribute at Cinquecento and provide the food," Farrington said. "We are most grateful to him and his company. It was delicious and the service was superb. Everyone wanted to take part in honoring Captain Ivens, and [to] listen once again to Officer Jorge Dias break our hearts with the story of Captain Ivens's leadership on Marathon Day."

Guests included Mayor Martin Walsh, state representative Aaron Michlewitz, city councilor at large Annissa Essaibi-George, South End liaison Sam Chambers, BPD commissioner William Evans, BPD community service officers Sergeant Lucas Taxter and officers Jorge Dias, Javier Pagan, Bernadette McCarthy, Richard Litto and William Slyne. The presence of Ivens's wife, Colleen Ivens and his daughter, first-year BPD officer Carolyn Ivens, made the reception a family affair. South End community leaders included George Stergios of the Worcester Square Area Neighborhood Association (WSANA), Randi Lathrop of Washington Gateway Main Street and Liz Cahill of SoWa Boston.

Walsh, Michlewitz and Essaibi-George offered official statements of recognition, including a resolution from the State House lauding Ivens's service, while longtime colleague and friend, Commissioner Evans and officer Dias of D-4 regaled the group with fond and personal recollections of Ivens's dedication and sage leadership, particularly on the day of the bombing.

The South End Forum's Fox emceed the evening and took the mic to hail Captain Ivens, noting that the party fell on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and incorporating a quote from King: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Fox continued, "Paul Ivens has always been someone who stood with this neighborhood: with the businesses and with the neighbors." Walsh spoke next, noting that he has only worked with Ivens in his capacity as Mayor for the past three years, but that he has spoken with Commissioner Evans and others about Ivens's performance on Marathon Monday. "There was a lot of chaos at the finish line. He was a rock in a lot of different ways," Walsh said. "It just shows you the talent that we hae in the Boston Police Department. In his seven years at this station, working with the community you can see a steady decline in crime...Community policing is very valuable and it's about the captain. The captain is the quarterback of the station." Walsh added, "We have a national turmoil in terms of policing, but we don't have that here in Boston."

Gesturing to Ivens, he said, "It's because of the leadership here and you are part of that leadership." He then read a proclamation acknowledging Ivens's work and thanking him for his service. Essaibi-George also congratulated Ivens and thanked him, offering a citation signed by the City Council for his contribution to the city. Evans, who joined the BPD around the same time as Ivens, recalled appointing Ivens to D-4 when Evans was superintendent. Evans said it was one of the "easiest things to do." It's not an easy place to police" because of D-4's wide range constituencies: the LGBT community, the students in the Fenway, the homeless and others.

On behalf of the South End Forum, Steve Fox presented Captain Ivens with a black and white, framed print with the names of South End streets and a vintage silver whistle, which the captain promptly wore around his neck. Ivens took to the mic and reflected on his long career and involvement with the South End. He pointed out that he was a patrolman early on and became captain later on. "One thing that was steady about the South End was the people. The people were always great. They were always very involved in the neighborhood, even back in the early '80s when things were a little bit different," Ivens observed. He called Marathon Monday "the worst day and the best day" of his life, the worst because of the tragedy and the best because of "the heroic actions of our police officers on Boylston Street, many of whom are in this room." Ivens, who served as supervisor of the bomb squad for 12 years, knew that the Marathon was an easy target for terrorism and had an uneasy feeling in the week before the April, 2013 attack. Ivens recalled telling his officers at 8:00 AM on Marathon Monday that if there ever were to be a terrorist attack in Boston, it would probably be at the Marathon near the finish line. He said the greatest compliment he ever received was from some officers shortly after the bombing who said they were unsure of what to do on that day, but Ivens's calm, steady guidance helped them remain composed and focus on doing what was needed.

Ivens also demonstrated his gift for storytelling, regaling the crowd with other incidents from his career, such as the time in the early '80s when he apprehended a well-dressed bank robber, wanted by the FBI for a nationwide string of bank robberies, who happened to run into Ivens's car, quite literally rolling across the hood into Boylston Street as he fled a bank he had just robbed. Ivens related his closest call in the line of duty as well as funny incidents rivetingly.

There was not a dry eye in the house as the ever-loquacious community service officer Jorge Dias reminisced about Ivens's leadership on Marathon Monday. Dias, who was near the finish line at the time of the bombing, was planning to attend his young son's birthday party after his shift that afternoon but soon found himself wondering whether he would get home at all. Dias described seeing even seasoned officers in tears on Boylston Street, but "when Paul came on the radio, it was a calming factor." Referring to the recently released film, "Patriot's Day", Dias said, "Sadly, you won't see the real hero depicted," and gestured to Ivens. Dias said that Ivens is "the reason I don't have PTSD."

Dias also told of apprehending a young, female heroin addict whom he repeatedly encountered trying to meet with a dealer. When Ivens arrived, his policing instincts were tempered with fatherly compassion, and rather than arresting the pregnant young woman, he delivered her to the care of her mother. Dias took that incident to heart.

Captain Ivens expressed no definite plans for his retirement other than relaxing and considering what comes next. However, the Ivens presence in the BPD continues with his daughter Carolyn, who practiced commercial real estate law before turning to law enforcement. Colleen Ivens said, "I'm very proud. She's following in her father's footsteps." Turning to her daughter, Colleeen Ivens quipped, "You won't be bored anymore," Officer Ivens is on first-year rotations, having been assigned to Dorchester in June and to D-4 from October until the end of January. Officer Ivens feels comfortable in her father's district. "I knew everyone so it wasn't scary for me," she said. Similarly, while Ivens's officers are sad to see him depart, they are sanguine about the new captain, Wayne Lanchester. "He's really nice. He used to work here as a patrolman," the nattily dressed officer Pagan said. Another officer was heard to say on his way out of the party, "A lot of captains retire and you don't miss them. He (Captain Ivens) is really going to be missed."