By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

Phil Jones is clearly aware he has big shoes to fill as the new Chief of Police in Bridgton.

“It’s a big step,” he said. “We don’t grow by doing easy things in life. We grow by taking big steps. I want to grow, and I want the police department to grow. I stepped into this role with that in mind — to help these guys I work with to be better, to hopefully make myself better, and makes this town better.”

Jones was sworn into office last month and “pinned” by mentor and former Bridgton Police Chief Rick Stillman. For the 38-year-old, Jones says he initially “fell into” pursuing a career in law enforcement, as well as landing in Bridgton.

A native of Portland, Jones attended private Greater Portland Christian in South Portland. While studying Theology in college, Jones followed a friend’s suggestion and found work at the Cumberland County Jail.

“I could work there, study and they had education incentives. I started at the jail in 2003. I managed the inmates. I worked in booking. It was a great place,” he recalled. “I fell in love with criminal justice. I enjoyed the comradery.”

Initially, Jones saw himself as a teacher, but he discovered he had a “skill set” that pointed him in the direction of law enforcement. One piece of the career puzzle came into focus.

“I’d like to say I fell into (police work), but I couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” he said.

Then, a second piece fell into place.

Jones and his wife, Vanessa, started searching for a new place to live.

“We were looking for a place that was different. We kind of fell into Bridgton. We had some family in the area. I had driven through one time — the downtown, Shorey Park, the street lights stood out to me. We found a place that suited us — it was an apartment building at the time. We bought it (in 2005),” he said. “At the time, I was working at the jail in Portland, so I was commuting about an hour. As I moved to Bridgton, I had officers who were coming into the booking area saying I should look at Bridgton PD.”

An opportunity to join Bridgton PD surfaced, and in 2006, then Chief David Lyons offered Jones a patrolman’s position. He accepted, becoming the first family member to enter the criminal justice field.

“I came in very green. I picked up some skills working at the jail. It was a huge benefit learning the importance of establishing communication with people — no matter who they are, where they come from, or what they’ve done — to take people for who they are and give respect, thus getting respect back. I’ve always viewed law enforcement as a people business. It’s not so much about the tickets you write; the cases you break; it’s about affecting change,” he said. “When I started, I was able to do a lot in the schools. I invested time in community policing, whether it was through Special Olympics or raising money for Special Olympics Maine through the Torch Run (which I learned was a huge part of Bridgton PD’s history) or through the schools. I fell in love with the classroom, which I wanted to do being a teacher, so being involved with fifth graders was a blessing.”

As a rookie, Jones said he was very fortunate to learn from a seasoned group of officers.

“When I came on, there was a wealth of experience here. I had an opportunity to learn from guys I deeply respect — Sgt. Taft, Officer King and Officer Chadbourne, Lt. Madura, Chief Lyons. I learned the value of learning people’s names, knowing who their families were. When I came on, the guys training me knew a person’s parents and sometimes their grandparents. They knew their history. Bridgton is a unique place. People here are very community minded; they care about Bridgton, even if they are committing crimes in Bridgton,” Jones said. “I remember one time when I responded to a domestic incident, and a suspect was holding a little child. He was very uncooperative. He kept repeating, I’m not going to jail…I’m not going to jail. I was really worried that we were going to have to use force. I didn’t know how we were going to do that. I hadn’t experienced that before. It seemed like forever trying to negotiate with this guy to get him to step away from the baby and submit to arrest.”

All of a sudden, Lt. Madura entered the room. He looked at the suspect, and the guy said, “Coach, is that you?”

“He recognizes he played football for Lt. Madura back in the day (middle school). Lt. Madura then told him, ‘Put that baby down and give me a hug.’ And he did. Lt. Madura then told him to put his hands behind his back and ‘Don’t give these guys any problems.’ The guy did just that — he submitted himself for arrest,” Jones recalled. “That’s what being part of this community is. I saw that in Lt. Madura. He invested time as a coach, and it wasn’t fruitless. It spared a lot of heart ache that day. That’s just one of many formative experiences I had.”

Jones also learned that working for a small department doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be a small-town cop.

“I have had opportunities to work with the FBI and NCIS on some very complicated investigations. I found that the partnerships we can have in our small town with other agencies (whether it is the Sheriff’s Office or federal agencies), the comradery go far outside the borders of Bridgton,” he said.

Another lesson learned was the need to partner with other law enforcement and service agencies for the good of the community, and not worry about who “gets the credit.”

“Everybody loses when agencies or officers doesn’t want to play well in the sandbox — wants all the glory, all of the attention, all of the information (hoards it). The only way to be successful in life, and especially in law enforcement, is to network, see the strength in partnerships. At the end of the day, we don’t care who gets the glory. What matters is the community wins. If the officer gets no headline time but the community is safe, that’s a win,” he said. “I think the partnerships go beyond the badge. Chief Stillman showed us the value of partnering with the hospital, the service providers in the community for those addicted to substances or struggling in other ways. Partnerships are the key. For us, a nine-person police department, when we have a good working relationship with everyone — from fire services to emergency medical to agencies around us — then we’ve grown exponentially in size because a quick phone call can get more done than one person running around trying to do things on his own. We’ve seen great success in partnerships.”

Two inevitable events most police officers experience are difficult cases that can shake a person’s desire to continue law enforcement work and turnover in staff.

“I don’t know if I ever questioned if I was going to come back in and do the job. I guess that’s the way I’ve been wired. I’ve worked a lot of cases that I’ve struggled with because of the nature of it. For a long time, I was the officer that handled abuse cases involving minors and worked a lot with DHS. I’ve had to talk to some really nice little kids about really bad things that happened to them. It takes a toll on you, mentally and physically. It’s tired me out. Times like that, I am very thankful for the support I receive from my family and church community outside of police work,” Jones said. “If I am working on a case that I feel I’m rundown because of the nature of it, my wife Vanessa has been incredibly supportive. My kids are always wonderful to spend time with. I have a great church community that is a strength to me. Having a perspective is key. The value in working those cases is helping kids and their families to move forward to feel safe because maybe you have taken that bad person out of the picture and held that person accountable, or prevented that person from hurting someone else. Somebody has to intervene.”

Children always have a special place in Jones’ heart. He and his wife have served as foster parents for a number of years.

“Foster care is something my wife always had a desire for. We got licensed early after we were married, fostering number of situations. It’s been good for our family. It’s hard, but it’s an opportunity to make a difference,” he said. “There is a huge need. We’ve learned how resilient kids are, and we firmly believe all lives are incredibly important and valuable. It’s been a growing and good experience.”

Over the years, Jones has seen the Bridgton Police Department evolve with the departure of the old guard and the arrival of new officers and chiefs. Despite personnel change, two components have remained the same — strong leadership and good comradery.

“We’ve had some very good leadership, which I was able to observe and learn from. There’s a quote out there that ‘We stand on the shoulders of giants.’ The people before us teach us how to do law enforcement. We’ve learned from some really good examples. They were able to focus on the mental health and wellbeing of the young officers. I remember Sgt. Taft checking in on me. ‘Are you okay, kid? How are things going?’ Those check ins, we learned from and now are leading these younger officers the same way. There is no recipe for good comradery. We’ve been blessed with great people. We’ve been blessed to work together on some great cases,” he said. “We have really good field training programs for our officers. Officer Smolinsky and Sgt. Muse are two of our trainers. Both are very mentoring, team-oriented kinds of guys. Todd is a coach, and has that mentality. Josh has always been a great mentor for the young guys. We’ve had great leadership from Sgt. Reese, who has been a cornerstone here for so long. The new guys have great people to look up to. At the end of the day, when all of your officers are willing to go through the door first to catch the bad guy, when everyone is willing to do the simplest of tasks to get the job done, then that’s the team you want to play for and be a part of. We’re full of those guys right now. It speaks to the quality of the officers here and their commitment to each other and the community. I also think there is a unique aspect in the law enforcement world where officers who work together in high stress/life and death situations are often times bonded together in ways that are hard to explain. Our officers have worked long hours together, investigated complex and shocking situations together, and relied on each other in tense situations.”

Tough time to be a police officer?

Wearing blue and a badge is not easy these days.  

“Here, we have overwhelming support. Even if people disagree with certain aspects with what we do. During some social unrest, I had a person walk up and knock on my window, and thanked me for a time I had interacted with him. He said, ‘I disagree with a lot that police do in this country, but I am so thankful for how you treated me in that particular situation.’ We get more ‘thank you’s’ than sour looks. We get more thank-you cards than nasty letters. We get Millie’s fudge on a regular basis. It’s a constant reminder that the community supports us. It’s encouraging,” the chief said. “It’s really important to be in a constant conversation with the community. It’s always important to hear what people have to say to us — good, bad and ugly. When one officer does something that is wrong, every officer should be able to look at it and say if it truly is wrong, it’s wrong. It’s not us. People were reacting to something we all saw. Certainly, no one in law enforcement around here or anyone I spoke with looked at it and said they agreed with it. We saw something that was wrong.”

When Jones joined then-Chief Rick Stillman at a Black Lives Matter gathering at the Main Hill monument one Saturday, it was a sign of understanding that change is needed.

“It was important, especially those who were hurting and expressing how they felt, for us (law enforcement) as their local police officers to hear them. When you stand next to someone who is hurting, you don’t necessarily have to tell them that you agree with them on every single thing they believe. Communities are not made up that way. They have people who see the world differently with a variety of perspectives. But, communities stand together. When someone is hurting, then you stand there and listen,” he said. “At the monument that day, we wanted to show as a department we weren’t going to run from the issue, but here to listen, talk to you and if there is anything we can do better in our work with you, we want to do that. Chief Stillman and I were incredibly encouraged to hear some young men say they want to raise their families here. We got great support from the people that were there. It’s important to hear people out, especially when they are hurting.”

On the flip side of the coin, Chief Jones points out that many men and women in blue are “doing a tremendous job.”

“Sometimes, you can look at any situation through a tunnel and not see the totality of the circumstances. Sometimes, it may lead people to rush to a decision or jump to a judgment that may not be warranted. All that being said, it helps us as police officers to guard our integrity. Officers are being extra careful to watch out for the officers around them to remind them of what we do and why we do it. Nobody does this job for the money. Now, no one does this job for the glory. You do this job because you want to see the community be safe and change for the better,” he said. “The public sometimes only sees a short piece of an interaction with officers and without greater context being provided, it leads to some misunderstandings and unrest. That is not to take away from legitimate outrage that comes from seeing someone abuse their power and position. I only want to highlight the fact that in my experience, the vast majority of officers and agencies that I have had the pleasure of interacting with throughout my career have been excellent, professional and committed to doing the job with integrity. I also think that it’s incredibly important to have real, face-to-face discussions when there is unrest. Whether or not we agree on all the issues, as a community we are stronger when we can discuss our differences, share burdens, and encourage each other.”

Has he personally seen the ugly head of racism surface during his time as a police officer?

“I haven’t really experienced it from my vantage point as a police officer in Bridgton or encountered it with the many officers I’ve worked with throughout the state. They’ve all been very good cops and care about the end goals — keeping their communities safe. As a police department, we have been very strong for supporting all members of our community, no matter where they come from, their belief system is. We’re here for everyone and will continue to be,” he said.

Transition to chief

Taking the next step up the ladder from sergeant to chief is a big one. Plenty of challenges are ahead — from tackling new responsibilities such as creating and overseeing a budget to proving to his peers that he is a good choice being named Chief of Police.

“Going from one of the guys to leader is unique because a lot of these guys I was one of their peers as patrol officers. When I was promoted to sergeant, there were growing pains in learning how to no longer be a peer but a supervisor. Now, to be chief of the department, it’s important to always communicate, especially in a department that has good comradery. Their best interest is really important to me. My end game isn’t to promote me, it’s to make this town and police department better,” Chief Jones said. “Cops, in general, aren’t going to believe you right away. They will be suspicious. We’re a skeptical bunch, always investigating. I understand that. These guys have been incredibly supportive. These officers have encouraging, and we’ve had some great conversations. I’ve had talks to game plan where they want to go — see their careers develop.”

The learning curve is going to be a struggle, but Chief Jones says he has great resources to lean on.

“Chief Stillman is going to get sick of me calling him. Also, Chief Schofield has been a great resource, I lean on him a lot,” he said. “It’s a big step. I’m managing a budget. Interacting with more members of the community in a different way. I have a great relationship and supervisor in the town manager and deputy town manager; I’m getting to know the selectboard, getting to hear their ideas and communicating the needs of the department.”

From a community standpoint, Chief Jones says taking on the new job has been “very humbling” hearing townspeople congratulate him on the promotion. As a way to reach out to the community, Jones is continuing a practice of his predecessors — taking daily walks along Main Street.

“It’s a habit Chief Schofield and Chief Stillman had. I think it’s important to be available, accessible and be visible so people don’t feel they have to schedule an appointment to talk to me. Whether you are a patrol officer or the chief, you need to be out and around the people,” he said. “It does deter crime. It encourages a conversation. I was walking the beat one day when someone stopped me and told me they didn’t want to ‘bother’ me at the police department, but somebody was rummaging through their car each night. We had a conversation. We need to know that. We increased some patrols and investigated what was going on. To hear from people you have had a positive impact upon, it’s better than any trophy or plaque.”

Chief Jones sees the transition period avoiding too many bumps in the road thanks to a strong “team” around him.

“I have great people to work with from our administrative assistant Ashley (Bedard) who is remarkable to Sgt. Reese, who has been doing a lot of administrative tasks and did a phenomenal job as acting chief. I’m always approaching him with questions. Now, we have a great command staff, Josh Muse just promoted to sergeant. It’s a great team. No one has to do it alone here,” he said. “Any good team recognizes players’ strengths and weaknesses. You accentuate the strengths, and work on strengthening the weaknesses. We have so many officers with great strengths, different backgrounds and levels of education, different experiences. You need everyone to fill a role and find a strength. It’s fun to be part of this group.”

Training is a key tool to continue strengthen BPD.

“We place a high value on training. We definitely want our officers to know that if they have an interest in an area that they would like more training in, we want to support that whether it is crime scene investigation or impaired driving apprehension tactics or crash investigations better or helping those who struggle with mental health,” he said. “One of the first things I’ve tried to do is meet with the officers and ask what their training goals are and how to develop their career goals. When a need arises, we want training to be available. Last year, we made mental health training a priority. Sometimes, training is required, but we’ll look for training guys are interested in. That builds confidence, comradery. We focus on a diverse training.”

As for goals in his first year, Chief Jones will look to get BPD up to full staff (hiring process for one full-time position); fill role of sergeant (that he vacated — filled this week with the promotion of Josh Muse); spend next month or so get good game plan with the sergeants as to training the officers; start thinking about another officer to add to our group; always work to be done with policies and being accredited; as well as learning this job and getting better.

“These are big shoes to step into. I’ve seen some great leadership here — chiefs I’ve worked with and some I haven’t, like Chief Bell that I heard so much about. I want to do it justice,” he added. “We are all excited what we are building here and what we can do for the community.”