BANGOR, Maine — The Duck of Justice, the taxidermied male wood duck that serves as mascot for the Bangor Police Department, has a protege.
During the past year, the duck and its exploits helped bolster the department’s social media standing, an effort that garnered national, and even international, media attention.
A police agency in Naugatuck, Connecticut, also took note. In hopes of boosting its own social media presence and community engagement, Naugatuck PD — with permission — copied the idea.
The Nauga-duck of Justice, a large rubber ducky, was born. The Connecticut department named their duck “Bangor,” a nod to the city from which they lifted the concept.
Over the summer, Naugatuck police Lt. Bryan Cammarata, the department’s then-newly minted public information officer, noticed a lot of chatter and media coverage surrounding the Duck of Justice. He gave the duck’s handler, Bangor police Sgt. Tim Cotton, a call.
“He had the same feeling I did,” Cammarata said of Cotton, “that police social media pages were too bland.”
Cotton had been injecting his own sense of humor and witty banter into his posts since he took over the department’s social media account earlier this year, and people noticed. The department’s Facebook following has surged past 33,300 as of Dec. 13.
Cammarata asked Cotton for permission to borrow some of his concepts. He added a few of his own, including “Too Bad Tuesday,” a recap of arrests made by the department during the previous week. The change has shown some results.
Naugatuck’s following is much smaller than Bangor’s, with about 2,400 Facebook likes as of Dec. 13. But that’s still a lot of growth from the few hundred followers the department had when Cammarata stepped into his post.
Cammarata freely admits that he “flat-out copied” the duck concept, and thanks the Bangor department for being a good sport. Still, “Bangor PD and Naugatuck PD are working toward the same goal: better communication with our citizens and supporters through social media,” he said.
Naming the Nauga-duck of Justice “Bangor” has caused some confusion. For example, a Facebook search for “Bangor Duck of Justice” brings you to the page for Naugatuck’s version, rather than the source of the original. Both departments recently posted messages on their Facebook sites in hopes of clearing the air.
Bangor and Naugatuck are similar communities in many ways. Both have a population of around 32,000, but they grow significantly during the day as people come in from surrounding towns to work. They also have proud, industrial, “blue-collar” roots.
The rubber duck plays well into Naugatuck’s history. The town is known for its historic manufacturing industry — primarily rubber production. Charles Goodyear, a chemist who developed a process to vulcanize rubber, started his career in Naugatuck. Decades after his death, the founder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. memorialized Goodyear by naming his company after the man.
Naugatuck hosts an annual Naugatuck River Duck Day and Race, a community festival that recognizes Naugatuck’s industrial history by sending thousands of rubber ducks down the river.
Last week, Bangor tagged along with the Cammarata family on a trip to Disney World. Cammarata published many of his adventures to the department’s Facebook page. Bangor also attended this year’s New York City Marathon.
Bangor Police Department has leveraged the celebrity of the original DOJ to raise money for children’s causes.
The department is selling T-shirts through Logo Motion Embroidery of Brewer. They’ve proved the be a “pretty big hit,” Cotton said, adding that close to 300 have been sold so far in places from Arizona to New Jersey, including many in Maine. A few people in Europe have asked about having shirts sent over the Atlantic, but details are still being worked out, as shipping them would be costly, Cotton said.
Logo Motion will return a portion of all proceeds to the police department. Cotton said the department will put those funds toward children’s programs — for example, a bike helmet program to provide kids with new helmets coupons as a reward for practicing good bike safety.
T-shirt order forms are available on the department’s Facebook page.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter @nmccrea213.