A Message to the Community from Bedford’s Retiring Police Chief Robert Bongiorno

~ Submitted by Chief Robert Bongiorno

To the Bedford Community,

As I prepare to depart as your chief of police and retire after more than three decades in policing, I wanted to take a moment to reflect upon the more than 10 years that I have spent in this wonderful community.

I wish to thank Town Manager Sarah Stanton for the faith she put in me in this office and for her leadership and guidance each day. Thank you as well to the Bedford Select Board and the department heads in Bedford who exercise stalwart leadership and make unwavering sacrifices every day, made especially challenging during this period of global pandemic caused by COVID-19.

In July 2011, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime for a police officer. When I was appointed chief, it marked the pinnacle of my professional career. When I arrived in Bedford, I was welcomed with open arms by this community. As I prepare to retire, I am ever-moved and ever-reminded by the fact that the people of this town are remarkable and the women and men of the Bedford Police Department are true leaders at the forefront of a profession that is – and must be – constantly evolving.

In Bedford, we are blessed with an extraordinary municipal government that consists of both career civil servants and dedicated, highly-knowledgeable and selfless volunteers on our boards and commissions. With that basis, there has been no challenge, project, program or crisis we have not been able to meet head-on. And we certainly do face every challenge head-on.

Early in my tenure as chief, I was presented with a significant test of leadership when a spree of anti-Semitic and hateful graffiti struck. We as a town could have buried the story as “under investigation.” Instead, we gathered in an auditorium and listened to each other, face-to-face. We heard stories from real people with real experiences and who have suffered real pain. We learned from each other. We sat with our faith leaders and our community partners. Instead of hiding this crisis, we shined a spotlight on hate and declared that we would not stand for it. I believe a community’s greatness is found when it is challenged. I could not be prouder of how Bedford rose in the face of that challenge in 2014.

Our partnerships make us an unbreakable community. In my career, relationships with people like Jacquelin Apsler from DVSN, Rabbi Susan Abramson and Robert Trestan of the ADL who have taught me a great deal and have been extremely generous with their friendship and knowledge have been so helpful. Additionally, we are fortunate to have some truly terrific leaders at all levels. Our Superintendent of Schools, Philip Conrad, has been a tremendous partner and is poised to take the bar, already set high by Jon Sills, and propel us even higher.

We have the dedicated services of State Rep. Kenneth Gordon whose work was instrumental not only in bringing the Middlesex County Restoration Center Commission to fruition but also on countless other issues related to policing and public safety that have not only contributed to public safety and wellness in Bedford but throughout the Commonwealth. I had the good fortune to travel the country with Rep. Gordon to view how other states and other agencies provide services to those suffering from mental illness. I am proud of the strides we have made in bringing projects like the Restoration Center Commission, once just a distant dream, to an almost reality.

The profession of policing is a good and noble vocation that is practiced by some of the most honorable and good human beings I have ever encountered. However, I cannot look back and speak about my own career in law enforcement without acknowledging the difficulties and tragedies that have been perpetuated by those of whom it only goes so far to say are the exception, not the rule. It only goes so far because it is not enough for those, like me, who have been given the extraordinary mantle of leadership and responsibility to simply distance ourselves from the stains of injustice, racism and policy brutality. We must condemn it and root it out every time and everywhere we find it.

The Bedford Police Department is a national leader on progressive policing, including domestic violence, jail division, restorative justice, delivering services to those suffering from mental illness and substance use disorder, and data-driven justice (in Partnership with Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian’s office). During my tenure on the executive board of the Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association, I had the privilege of working every day with our Sheriff and  District Attorney, Marian Ryan. Through that work, I have found both to be great partners and true friends. District Attorney Ryan and Sheriff Koutoujian must be lauded for their efforts to modernize and advance public safety in the region.

I also teach a course, with other police leaders, on the topic police legitimacy. In the course, we teach young and veteran police officers that their entire career and profession depends on the public – residents, business owners, victims of crime and even perpetrators of crime – believing that we will apply the law evenly and justly. Paramount is the faith placed in us when someone dials 911—that a person in uniform will come, as fast as they can and do what they can to help, regardless of circumstance, situation, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, criminal record, immigration status or any other measurable demographic. If a person has no hesitation about dialing those three numbers during an emergency, we have earned that base level of trust needed to do our jobs.

This status, enjoying the level of public trust and support that we have in Bedford is well-earned every day by the women and men of the Bedford Police Department who work to build strong partnerships through transparency, trust, hard work, consensus building and face-to-face problem solving. I am so grateful to the members of the department who service the community with pride and dignity. They are where the rubber meets the road.

For the past 33 years, I have had the honor of working with some great leaders, colleagues and people that I call dear friends. One of those mentors is Fred Ryan, the retired Arlington Police Chief. Chief Ryan has had a profound impact on my career, and I am most grateful.

We cannot talk about partnerships without acknowledging the ones at home. Every police officer’s spouse makes a sacrifice. My career in law enforcement would not have been possible without the love and support of my partner and wife, Christine, who works at the highest levels of public health and human services in her own career yet still always seems to have the capacity to support and encourage me and my journey.

It is bittersweet to say goodbye to a job I truly love. However, I am confident in my decision, in no small part because I believe that I am leaving at a time when this department is well-positioned to meet challenges ahead and has set a tone that other agencies seek to emulate.