New president takes over at the largest union in Boston police department

Long-time Boston police union president Thomas Nee, who battled fiercely with the late mayor Thomas M. Menino over contract issues, has been replaced, as have other members of the union’s leadership team.

According to a tweet Tuesday night from the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the new president is Patrick M. Rose who held the post of union secretary until challenging Nee for the top job.

Neither Nee nor Rose could be reached for comment Wednesday.

Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans praised Nee’s leadership of the union, which is the largest in the department.

“I would like to thank Tommy Nee for his many years of service to the men and women of the Boston Police Patrolman’s Association. He worked very hard on issues that he felt were important to his membership,” Evans said in a statement.

The commissioner also congratulated Rose and said he looked forward to working with the new union leadership.

Rose joined the department in 1994 and is currently assigned to Area C-11 in Dorchester, according to the police department. According to officials, the union has more than 1,400 members.

Nee has had a leadership role at the union since the late 1990s, and challenged Menino and other unions when the city hosted the Democratic National Convention in 2004 and more recently in 2013 when an arbitrator awarded patrol officers a 25.4 percent raise over six years, a contract approved by the City Council over Menino’s objections.