Ashburnham Police Chief Chris Conrad sworn in as Loring Barrett retires

ASHBURNHAM – Although Police Chief Chris Conrad might be technically new to the position, the actual job of running the entire department has become very familiar to him over the past few years. And Conrad said he had his predecessor, Chief Loring Barrett, to thank for preparing him for his new role.

“Chief Barrett had been working with me for quite some time to help ease that transition, and so that’s really what made that difference – he kind of mentored me for the last year or two, so I was kind of able to pick it up where he left off,” Conrad explained.

Barrett, who retired after 17 years as chief on July 15, began including Lt. Conrad in more and more of the day-to-day operations of running an entire police department.

Conrad said he was grateful to have his former chief’s confidence.

More: Loring Barrett reflects on 17 years as Ashburnham Police Chief

“The last few years I’ve been in charge of pretty much the daily operation of the department, including functioning, scheduling, training – and he also brought me in on budgeting the last couple of years so I could have an understanding of how the budget is put together,” Conrad explained

He learned that the town’s chief is responsible for much more than keeping the department’s budget in order.

“The police chief here in Ashburnham holds the responsibility of managing the public safety building as well as overseeing the communications department and the animal control – they’re all separate budgets and contracts, so it was quite a lot,” he said.

From part time dispatcher to chief

Conrad's law enforcement career began in 2000 when he applied for a part-time dispatcher position at the Ashburnham Police Department while he was attending classes at Anna Maria College in Paxton. Within a month or two, he recalled, he was promoted to full time, while still attending college full time.

Conrad was hired as a part-time police officer in 2001 and worked at several departments while waiting for a full-time position to become available.

More: In wake of critical review of Gardner Police Dept., Chief Braks retires

“And back then, to get on full time was very difficult, so I actually worked for Ashburnham, Rutland, and Winchendon all at the same time as a part-time police officer, and then in 2005 Winchendon hired me full time and sent me to the police academy,” he explained.

He worked full time in Winchendon for over a year, but when a full time opening became available in Ashburnham, Conrad jumped at the chance to work with Chief Barrett again.

Conrad, 43, who lives in Ashburnham with his wife, Ellen, and their two children, is the first police chief to live in the town since 1998.

Conrad said he had wanted to be a police officer from a very young age.

“Being a police officer was the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do,” Conrad said, adding that he graduated from Anna Maria with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. “So, it’s the field I’ve always wanted to get into.”

Fire academy graduate

After growing up in Connecticut, Conrad said he became a firefighter in that state just to become part of the emergency response field. Although he didn’t spend a lot of time fighting fires, Conrad did end up being nationally certified while at the fire academy.

“Technically, I’m also an arson investigator here for the town,” Conrad explained. “Because in order to be an arson investigator, you have to have police powers and have gone to the fire academy, which I did.”

Conrad, who still keeps his firefighter bunker gear close at hand, has investigated several local fires in town, including the blaze that destroyed the Mr. Mike’s Mini Mart in 2017.

“I was part of the investigation of that as a police lieutenant but also a fire investigator – it was kind of a unique role,” he said.

Support from the town

Conrad was officially sworn in as chief on July 11 and took his oath of office at a public ceremony on Aug. 8. He said he was grateful to have the confidence and support from the residents with whom he shares the community.

“I’ve been a resident here a long time, so I’m very familiar with a lot of people, and it’s actually been kind of humbling to see how many people have reached out,” he said. “When (my promotion) hit Facebook, we must have received 150 messages and calls and people and business owners who just stop in – it’s nice to get that kind of support.”

As for the future of the Ashburnham Police Department, Conrad said his predecessor left him in charge of a well-oiled machine that didn’t need much in the way of changes.

“However, there’s always room for improvement, and there are always things we can look at to make sure we’re doing it the best we can,” Conrad said.

Taking the reins

He intends to spend the next few weeks meeting one-on-one with each of the department’s employees. “I want to get their perspective on what they see that is working and what may not be working that I don’t necessarily see. By doing that, maybe I’ll find some things that need fine-tuning, and that’s how I’m going to find that out.”

Conrad admitted he’s still getting used to being the top law enforcement officer in the town where he’s spent so much of his career.

“Coming into (Barrett’s) office that first day when he wasn’t here was a little surreal because I was so used to seeing him,” Conrad said. “And, honestly, I’m going to miss that camaraderie that he and I had every morning.”

“But I’m just delighted and proud that I’ve made it this far – I’m thrilled because I have a long career left to go here, I’m a resident here, and it’s great to be able to take over a department that I walked into at the lowest level (for lack of a better term!) 22 years ago, and here I am running the show,” he said. “That’s exciting.”

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Ashburnham Police Chief Chris Conrad sworn in