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Diversity hailed as Boston police promote 34 officers

Boston police Officer Rene Sanchez spent every day and night studying for months, anxious to ace the promotional exam and make sergeant.

Sanchez, a married father of two teenage boys, skipped out on a family vacation to Puerto Rico to instead pore over books for the test.

His hard work paid off. In March, Sanchez was promoted to sergeant. He joined 33 others for the Boston Police Department Promotional and Rating Ceremony Monday morning at Roxbury Community College. (One officer who was also promoted could not make it to the ceremony.)

“It was a long, long process,” Sanchez said. “It’s a sacrifice we got to do if we want to climb the corporate ladder.”

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Ten of the officers promoted — nearly 30 percent — were black, Hispanic, or Asian.

A majority of the officers promoted were white men. Five women were promoted.

In one of the higher profile promotions, Police Commissioner William B. Evans appointed Gregory P. Long superintendent in chief of the Bureau of Investigative Services.

Long, a 19-year veteran on the force, was a lieutenant detective at the homicide unit for about five years and worked in the special investigations unit before Evans sought to promote him.

Long hopes to continue the work the unit has been doing in maintaining relationships with victims’ families.

“The relationship that detectives have with the victims’ families is always essential,” Long said. “I want to make sure the investigations are done the right way. That they’re always given the proper amount of attention and attention to detail they deserve.”

Some of the officers who were promoted said they hoped to have a bigger impact in the department.

Sanchez, who came to Boston as a child from his native Puerto Rico, said the promotion was a major steppingstone for him.

“It’s very important . . . obviously in this day and age we need to understand the people that we serve,” said Sanchez.

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His parents moved to Boston in the 1970s. He grew up in the housing developments in Jamaica Plain.

“You look around the country and you see so many things going on,” Sanchez said, with his wife and two sons by his side. “One of the things that helps us is that the officers in the Boston Police Department . . . understand the culture and the issues and concerns that the residents have.”

Mayor Martin J. Walsh praised the level of diversity within the promotional class, noting that diversity is something for which he has been pushing in all city agencies.

“It’s important that young people in the community see somebody that looks like them as a police officer, a firefighter, in high levels,” Walsh said. “I think that’s another step in building trust.”

Tavi Francis joined her father, Anthony H. Francis, on stage Monday to place the badge around his neck. Anthony Francis, who is black, was promoted to detective.

“It’s great seeing all of this diversity moving up the ranks,” said Tavi Francis, 18. “Especially with what’s going on with police and civilians.”

While police-community relationships throughout the country remain strained following several deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police, Evans called on the officers “to take the department forward.”

“Supervision has never been so critical with the amount of people who are up there scrutinizing us,” Evans told the officers during the ceremony. “Everyone loves to pick on the cops now. I need you guys to make sure we are not only safe out there, but also that the officers are doing the right thing.”

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Jan Ransom can be reached at jan.ransom@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jan_Ransom.