WESTBORO - Thursday morning, the day after he turns 65 and retires after 44 years with the Police Department, Chief of Police Alan Gordon expects he’ll wake up and feel what it’s like to go from 100 mph to 0.
“Holy mackerel! Where did this go?” he said in an interview at the Police Department’s temporary headquarters in a sleek office building on Computer Drive.
“I love what I do. I never thought I’d enjoy a job so much,” he said.
Chief Gordon was appointed chief in July 2002 after working his way up through the ranks.
But state law mandating police retirement by age 65 and the realization that his head and his heart were more-or-less in accord on this being the time to move on conspired to set Jan. 31 as his last day as chief.
He said he has offered to stay on as interim chief until the incoming head, Uxbridge Police Chief Jeffrey A. Lourie, starts in likely another month. And he will be on the reserve officer roster, helping with traffic details and sports events.
But the chief said he’ll be able to pick and choose what he does with his time, including seeing more of his 10 grandchildren and spending time at his house in Florida. He’s also been asked to serve on the board of directors of Westboro Behavioral Healthcare Hospital, a new psychiatric facility in town.
“I don’t think I’ll have any real down time,” he said. “I’m not going to be bored.”
Reflecting on what’s gone on in town and in the police force since Chief Gordon was hired with federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act money in 1974, to work the midnight to 8 a.m. shift, the chief said, “Everything has changed.”
Police Department headquarters are an obvious difference.
In the 1970s the department was located in the basement of Town Hall. Municipal offices moved in 1982 to the former Forbes School, where Chief Gordon had attended middle school. Last March, the department moved to temporary headquarters in the heart of high-tech businesses off of Route 9, near Interstate-495, while the Forbes Municipal Building undergoes renovation.
The new setting reflects the growth of the town itself, from around 10,000 people and a police force of a dozen officers, to nearly 20,000 residents, a booming technology sector and 29 sworn officers.
The community has also become much more diverse, with a large number of Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern and Spanish-speaking immigrants, among others.
Chief Gordon said his department has tried to keep up with changes to effectively serve all. He participates on the town’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and has tried to build trust among new residents by having police meet with adults taking ESL classes at night at the high school.
“We need to listen to what everybody has to say,” the chief said. “We don’t want to be known as a sanctuary city but we welcome everyone.”
The department has a Spanish-speaking officer in the reserve intermittent police academy. “I thought it very important to have somebody work with us, to be able to reach out to that part of the community,” he said.
Police Department personnel have changed over the decades too, from very few having a college degree to a department with nearly all college-educated officers.
A cop’s job is still fighting and preventing crime, and the kind of crime in town has evolved along with its police.
Chief Gordon said early in his career, motor vehicle incidents and quality of life issues were prevalent.
Now, he said, “I see a lot more with domestic violence.”
He said it may not mean an increase in the crime, but “I feel people are a little more at ease reporting it.”
The department’s response to domestic violence has changed too, with state mandates removing much of what used to be discretionary action.
Drugs have also left a big imprint, not just among people who use opioids or other illicit substances, but also in connection with shoplifting at Westboro’s many large stores.
“Most of those issues we’re dealing with are drug-related,” he said.
And then there are the perennial scams and white-collar crimes that plague communities everywhere.
The chief said he was proud to have brought in equipment to help officers do their job, including adding all-wheel drive vehicles for the miles of road they travel daily, and of supporting the professional growth of his staff.
Throughout it all, Chief Gordon has relished being part of the town’s fabric. He attends selectmen’s meetings regularly, just to be there in case questions arise and to keep his finger on the town’s political pulse.
He hopes to work closely through the transition with Chief Lourie.
“There’s so many people that I owe, I’m thankful to, and he’s got to meet them,” he said.
Chief Gordon was pleased about the selectmen's choice of his successor.
“He and I grew up in the profession together,” Chief Gordon said. “He certainly was deserving of this job and he earned it.”
While it might take time to adjust to a slower pace in retirement, the chief said, “It’s a great life for me. I truly have been blessed by everything.”