John Gibbons

John Gibbons reacts to a greeting from a colleague before his induction ceremony as a U.S. Marshal for the district of Massachusetts, in Boston, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010. Gibbons, the first African American U.S. Marshal inducted in Massachusetts, served 27 years with the Massachusetts State Police, and retired as Detective Lieutenant on Dec. 31, 2009. (Photo: AP /Josh Reynolds)

John Gibbons

A 30-year state police veteran is the new U.S. Marshal for Massachusetts.

Retired state police Detective Lieutenant John Gibbons was sworn in on Friday in a ceremony at the Moakley Courthouse in Boston.

He spent 27 years in the State Police Division of Investigations and managed the FBI Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force.

During his law enforcement career, he served in the state police detective units of the state Attorney General, and the Hampden and Northwest district attorneys’ offices. He retired from the state police in December.

Gibbons, the state’s first black U.S. Marshal, joined the state police as a trooper in 1979 after earning a master’s degree from American International College in Springfield.