BANGOR, Maine — The Bangor Police Department has selected its next downtown walking beat officer, Sgt. Tim Cotton said Thursday evening in a Facebook post.
Officer George Spencer will succeed Officer Russell Twaddell III, who retired in February after a 25-year career with the Bangor Police Department, the last two years of which he spent walking the same streets his father, Russell Twaddell Jr., patrolled decades ago.
According to Cotton, Spencer was selected from a pool of several hopefuls because “he had the perfect blend of being pleasant and helpful along with a whole lot of no-nonsense attitude.”
Spencer came to the Bangor Police Department in 1997 after working at both the Veazie and Orono police departments.
Police Chief Mark Hathaway said earlier this month that the new walking beat officer would assume his new duties on April 4.
Hathaway also said that the new beat officer will work the same noon to 8 p.m. shift as Twaddell did and, like Twaddell, will be held over until 10 or 11 p.m. five or six times during the summer when major events, such as shows that are part of the Waterfront Concert Series, take place.
“He will be a welcome sight, patrolling the sidewalks, parks, trails and parking garages in the downtown region of our lovely city,” said Cotton.
Cotton said that Spencer will be formally introduced to downtown businesspeople and residents during a gathering on April 13 at Epic Sports.
The walking beat once was a fixture but fizzled out at some point. The police department decided to revive the beat in early 2013 after downtown business owners, residents and the City Council raised concerns about a drastic increase in panhandling, loitering and drug use among groups of people downtown, especially in the Pickering Square area.