Saugus police chief says it was time to retire

SAUGUS – After spending his entire career serving the town, Police Chief James MacKay said it’s simply time to step aside.”It’s like you just wake up one morning and it’s time,” MacKay said Monday. “It’s been 38 years, it’s been a long time.”In fact it was 38 years ago this month, MacKay said, that he walked into the old police station, which now belongs to Emergency Management, and was hired by then-Chief Fred Forni as a reserve officer.”I was a reserve for about 14 months. Then in July 1971 I was hired on full time,” he said. “I was promoted to sergeant in 1978.”It was only then, when he was a sergeant, that MacKay said he finally attended the police academy.”That’s how crazy it was back then, and no one had a degree,” he said. “Today we have officers with law degrees, bachelors and masters degrees.”MacKay said during his tenure he has seen many changes, but the rising level of education among his officers and technology would have to be the two largest.”The change that has been the most dramatic has to be the technology,” he said. “The things we can do electronically are amazing.”Information that MacKay said would have taken them days, weeks, even a month to gather decades ago is now at officers’ fingertips thanks to computers.”It’s available in the station, it’s available in the cars,” he said. “It would be available if they were walking if they had those little palm pilots. It’s made our jobs safer and better.”But one thing MacKay said he hasn’t seen change for the better over the last 38 years is department financing.”I’ve been fortunate,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities in my career, a lot of responsibilities, some more challenging than others, especially the last five years.”Over the last five years, MacKay has found himself caught between a town on a financial downslide and the department that is supposed to protect it. He’s watched as eight officers were laid off in one fell swoop in 2003 and over the years lost at least two detectives through attrition.Last summer things came to a head when officers were being forced to work back to back shifts and on more than one occasion there haven’t been officers available to respond to calls due to a lack of manpower.”No one wants to put four officers on the street,” MacKay said. “We went out with more men on the street in 1970 than we do now.”Although he regularly lobbied the Finance Committee and Town Meeting, MacKay has largely sat by and watched as the town has steadily grown, but his resources have steadily dwindled.”It’s unsafe,” he said.The years have not all been bad, however.MacKay said over the years he has had the chance to meet and work with a lot of amazing people who he will miss.When asked if he has any plans for his retirement, he said he was exploring options. He also said he plans on taking time to explore his latest role in life: grandpa.”Fifteen months ago I became a grandfather to three grandsons,” he said. “And there is a fourth one coming and then in a few weeks there’ll be a fifth, we don’t know yet if it’s a boy or a girl. I’m certainly looking forward to those moments, doing some sailing and being at the beach with them.”