The Bangor Police Department is Funnier than You
BANGOR, MAINE – Unless you’ve been under a rock, you probably noticed that there is a lot of skepticism around the Fuzz lately. For you unhip folk, that means the Police.
However everyone on the Internet seems to like the Bangor Maine Police Department, or at least their Facebook page.
There, you will find the humorous musings of Sgt. Tim Cotton.
Here’s just a few examples:
Officer Sanborn and Officer Lund have been disappearing a lot lately. Oh, they take their calls but keep coming back to…
Posted by Bangor Maine Police Department on Wednesday, September 16, 2015
// In many of the posts, you’ll find Sgt. Cotton’s sidekick, The Duck of Justice, a preserved and stuffed American wood duck he saved from the district attorney’s trash bin years ago.
Everyone knows that many ducks migrate. Usually south. I share this only because we have visitors that stop by quite…
Posted by Bangor Maine Police Department on Thursday, December 17, 2015
Recently, while working a little late at the office, I walked by the Office of the Chief of Police. He was out, but I…
Posted by Bangor Maine Police Department on Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Larby has been through Mt. Desert with a cat with no name, it felt good to be out of the rain.The cat was not involved…
Posted by Bangor Maine Police Department on Monday, November 16, 2015
It goes on.
As the Washington Post reports, since Cotton took control of the Facebook page in spring 2014, it’s gained more than 72,000 likes. That’s more than double the population of Bangor.
The article continues:
Cotton said he was “blown away” by the reaction to the page. “Things have been horrible nationwide. Maybe I came in to write this page at the right time and it allowed somebody to grasp something positive about police.”
Cotton, a 52-year-old native “Mainer” who loves the Onion and MAD magazine, said the Facebook page was initially a leap after 13 years as a detective.
You learn as you go. I’m not exactly a social media magnate here,” he said. Cotton, a 27-year career cop, decided to draw on his sense of humor and hope he didn’t burn any bridges.
“I think humor is the universal language,” he said.
He proposed funny to his chief as an alternative to the typically stodgy fare put out by other departments. He got the okay with the caveat that he not mention religion or politics.
Yeah, because we all know what that would go over.
But really, why can’t more institutions do things like this?