Boston Council Panel Backs Age Waiver for 43-Year-Old Police Recruit

BOSTON — March 26, 2024 — Boston City Council panel unanimously backs age waiver for a 43-year-old aspiring police officer. The Committee on Government Operations, chaired by District 1 Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, voted to recommend that the full council advance Docket 0399 — a petition for a special state law exempting Alex Guzman from Boston's maximum hiring age of 40, itself a 2007 home rule increase over the state baseline of 32. The petition was co-sponsored by Councilor-at-Large Erin J. Murphy and District 5 Councilor Enrique J. Pepén, who represents Guzman's Hyde Park neighborhood. Guzman, a 13-year Boston Housing Authority employee who immigrated to the United States at 15, told the committee that financial hardship and family obligations had delayed his lifelong goal of working in law enforcement. Coletta Zapata suggested the council consider a separate home rule petition to raise the age cap more broadly, saying "clearly there are wonderful qualified candidates who are beyond that age requirement."