FROM THE STORY: Boxing gloves emblazoned with the Providence Police shield sit on a table behind the new chief.
For all of the awards and achievements over 28 years at the Providence Police Department — a master’s from Boston University, graduating from the FBI National Academy and senior management programs at Boston University and the Harvard Kennedy School, teaching community policing at Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University, serving on the parole board, the board at the Nonviolence Institute, and working on statewide policies — the gloves are a symbol of his grit.

Soon after emigrating from Medellín, Colombia, at age 13, Oscar Perez started going to a boxing gym near his family’s home in South Providence. He couldn’t speak English, but boxing taught him other lessons, like what it takes to remain standing in a fight.
He’s personable and quick to laugh, but even now, at age 52, he instinctively balls up his fists as he talks.
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