Healey chooses new leader of Mass State Police

Authorities announced Wednesday that Gov. Maura Healey has selected Geoffery Noble to serve as colonel of the Massachusetts State Police.

Nobel previously served as a lieutenant colonel in the New Jersey State Police.

In a statement, Healey praised Noble’s work in New Jersey. She said she believes Noble is “the leader our hard-working state police team and the people of Massachusetts deserve.”

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

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

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

“At this point, when the success of the Department is so closely tied to the success of Geoffrey Noble, I will do everything in my power to support him, and I ask every member of the State Police to do the same,” Mawn said in a separate statement Wednesday.

Noble’s appointment comes as the agency grapples with multiple scandals. Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the Karen Read case, was relieved of his duties in July. Text messages revealed that Proctor called Read a “freak b**ch” and “retarded.” In May, prosecutors convicted several officers of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in overtime fraud.