PORTLAND, Maine — "Times, they are a changing," one person wrote.
"I want to be pulled over now," another commented.
"Looks like I'll be going to Portland to commit some crimes," a woman said.
Hundreds of people reacted to a post by the Portland Police Department announcing a change in their tattoo policy.
"I was not expecting as much of a reaction," Officer Zach Grass told NEWS CENTER Maine.
Several people commented on the post referring to Grass as a 'hunk,' and cheering the new policy.
He said it is far different from what he once feared.
"I wasn't worried about how people would see me. I was more worried about if I was going to get hired," Grass said.
Once a corrections officer, Grass worked in a facility that required he wear long-sleeved uniforms. He was concerned it would influence his ability to be hired on a town or city's police force.
"There is an old saying that the public are the police and the police are the public," Chief Frank Clark said.
The department said in the Facebook post, while they do pride themselves on upholding longstanding traditions, they are ready to realize that in the 200 years of statehood, Maine is now a different place.
"A lot of people have tattoos they're much more accepted expression of art and humanity itself," Clark said.
Clark said he hopes the new policy will also open the door for more eligible recruits.
Like departments across the state and country, Portland has struggled to find qualified candidates in recent years.
Right now, there are 160 officers with the department. At a low point, there were 26 openings due to retirements and officers on leave, but recruiting efforts have allowed them to hire up.
They currently have seven openings and are constantly recruiting more.
"We want to bring the best people into this department that we possibly can and we don't want this to be the single barrier for them to do that," Clark said.
Officer Grass is part of a group officers who work on recruitment efforts. He said the most important thing to him is to convey the message that officers should reflect the community they serve.
This tattoo policy is one way of proving that.
"We are just members of the community like everybody else," Grass said.
There are exceptions to the policy change, including inappropriate tattoos or tattoos on the hands and face. It is ultimately up to Chief Clark to determine what is acceptable.