SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — The Chief of the South Portland Police Department has announced his decision to retire after serving as a first responder for more than 47 years.
Chief Ed Googins shared a heartfelt statement Wednesday, July 10, on the Department's Facebook page. He says that in January of 2020, he will leave a profession he loves and a post he has proudly held for 25 years.
Googins was chosen to serve as Chief for South Portland in 1994 after completing a career of more than two decades with its neighbor, the Portland Police Department. There, he had climbed to the ranks of Captain.
Googins is a longtime Mainer. He graduated from Portland High School and went on to enroll in a law enforcement program at what is now known as Southern Maine Community College.
Googins says that a primary focus he had during his career was creating a sense of community support. He says the Department did so over time by "engaging with those we work with to foster an atmosphere of cooperation, transparency, trust, and respect."
Googins adds that he is proud of everything the City and Department has achieved together and notes he consistently receives compliments from people in and outside of the community, telling him how great the men and women are who work for the South Portland Police Department.
"They are right!" Googins wrote. "Please know the pride I feel in each of you for the jobs you do so well. I will take that with me when I leave."
In his post, Googins recognizes that police work "is not easy or for the faint hearted." He says that the work the Department has done (and is still doing) would be "impossible" without "continuous training, the best equipment, and strong community support."
He also made a point to assure his colleagues that over the years, his ultimate goal has been to help keep them safe on the job and to have the best equipment possible to do so.
Googins still has a few months left before he leaves his position and says that in that time, he will still continue to do needed work around the community with his team. He says the decision to retire is not an easy one and adds that despite a long list of accomplishments, those are not what he wants to focus on with this announcement.
"What is important is that I take this opportunity to thank all of you for the hard work each of you do every day to provide essential police services to this community and to keep this community safe," Googins wrote. "It is important, to me, that I thank you for the support you have given me in making our agency the most progressive and respected agency in the State."
Chief Ed Googins' entire Facebook post reads as follows: