PORT EDWARDS − Police Chief Brandon Abbott never wanted to be the head of his own department.
“It was never on the radar for me,” Abbott said.
But, after spending five years on the Port Edwards Police Department, finding the “great atmosphere” in the village and being mentored by retired Police Chief Scott Drew, Abbott decided to apply for the job. He knew that he could eventually retire from the department where he has enjoyed working.
Abbott, 45, was appointed police chief in February. He worked at the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department prior to being hired by Drew. Abbott said he’s worked for all the departments in the Wisconsin Rapids area, except the Grand Rapids Police Department.
Village leaders have developed a supportive team environment
Abbott said the village board has been supportive and he enjoys working with Fire Chief Dustin Lease and Village Administrator Ben Martinson. Abbott said he and Martinson have the same vision for the village.
“It’s been good having the comradery among everybody and common sense,” Abbott said.
Abbott said he always has seen himself as a team player and not as a supervisor. Since the Port Edwards Police Department has a small staff − the chief, two full-time officers and three part-time officers − the chief’s position is a working one. The ability to still get out of the office, patrol the village and interact with the residents is another reason Abbott decided the Port Edwards police chief’s job was for him.
How Abbott plans to continue moving the department forward
Drew did a fantastic job of turning around and improving the Port Edwards Police Department in the five years he was chief, Abbott said. Abbott wants to continue moving the department forward.
Abbott has started a chaplain program for officers to have someone to talk to when they’ve dealt with a difficult case. Most of the departments in the area have chaplains and Abbott believes Port Edwards needs one too.
Abbott also is working on getting a therapy dog for the department. The dog, a miniature goldendoodle named Bosco, is Abbott’s dog and will go to work with him some days. Abbott got Bosco last year with the idea of training him to be a therapy dog. Getting the chief’s job delayed Bosco’s training, but Abbott hopes to be using him to calm nerves of anyone in have a difficult time by the end of the year.
Abbott finds opportunities for officers to interact with children in community
Abbott enjoys interacting with village residents, especially the children. While working a regular beat, he started “sucker Sundays.” He’d go to the store and get a bag of suckers he’d keep in his squad car and hand out to everyone he saw that day, he said.
Abbott plans to continue occasionally bringing a bag of suckers with him to work to hand out now that he’s chief. Village residents who like to attend events in the community also will see Abbott and the other members of the department helping out at most of them.
The Police Department also will be holding a bicycle rodeo for children. The timing will provide bike safety refreshers for children right before the school year starts, Abbott said. The department officers will have some bicycles, helmets and other things to give out during the rodeo.
It’s important for children to know that police officers are their safety zone when they need help. Port Edwards’ new school resource officer is Josiah Mertes. Mertes is attending a school resource officer conference this summer, which will give him a chance to make contact with other school resource officers in the area.
Although Mertes will be the primary officer at the schools, all full-time officers will spend quite a bit of time there to get to know the children, Abbott said.
Abbott stresses importances of family time in his department
Abbott said he stresses to his officers the importance of family and spending time with family. Abbott will take a weekend for someone who has a family event, he said.
Abbott has been married to his wife, Cori, for 22 years this month. The couple has four children, two adults and two still in school. Abbott spends a lot of with his family and often has the family out on their pontoon boat on the weekend.
Abbott graduated from Assumption High School, and Cori went to Lincoln High School. The two had mutual friends and began dating in 1997, Abbott said.
Contact Karen Madden at kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: How new police chief Brandon Abbott is moving the Port Edwards Police Department forward
Reporting by Karen Madden, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune / Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
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