Former State Police lieutenant from New Jersey will lead Mass. State Police, Healey announces

Former Lieutenant Colonel of the New Jersey State Police Geoffery Noble will be the new head of MSP, Healey announced on Wednesday.

Governor Maura Healey selected Geoffery Noble as the next Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police, officials announced on Wednesday.

Nobel previously served as Lieutenant Colonel of the New Jersey State Police.

In a statement, Healey praised Noble’s work in New Jersey. She said she believes Noble to be “the leader that our hardworking State Police team and the people of Massachusetts deserve.”

“I’ve long admired the Massachusetts State Police, and it is a true honor that Governor Healey has placed her trust in me to lead this distinguished team of law enforcement professionals,” Noble said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said state police deserve an “accessible, transparent and committed” leader. The statement notes Nobel investigated the use of deadly force by police during his tenure in New Jersey.

The State Police Association of Massachusetts said they “looks forward” to working with Noble. Interim Colonel Jack Mawn said he has a “deep, profound love” for the MSP and expressed confidence in Noble.

“In this moment when the Department’s success is so closely linked to Geoff Noble’s success, I will do everything I can to support him, and ask every member of the State Police to do the same,” Mawn said in a separate statement on Wednesday.

Noble’s appointment comes as the agency weathers multiple scandals. Trooper Michael Proctor, lead investigator for the Karen Read case, was relieved of his duties in July. Text messages revealed Proctor called Read a “wack job c**t” and “retarded.” In May, prosecutors convicted several troopers of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in an overtime fraud ring.