Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4028 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MARCH 2016 As a result of his comic chops and creativity (more on the Duck of Justice shortly), the Bangor PD’s Facebook page has tens of thousands of fans across the country. Cotton took control of the Facebook page in the spring of 2014. Since then the page has accumulated more than 72,000 likes. That’s double the population of Portland. People are so impressed with the page they frequent- ly leave rave reviews. “Never been to Maine, but I love this police de- partment!” LaToya Griffin posted on the department’s page. “This is one of my favorite pag- es,” wrote Jean- nine Golpe. Cotton sug- gested that re- cent events have drawn people to the page be- cause of the negativity surrounding law enforcement coverage. “Things have been hor- rible nationwide. Maybe I came in to write this page at the right time and it allowed somebody to grasp some- thing positive about police,” Cotton told reporters with The Washington Post. But he’s being modest. What makes any web page work is the skill set and creative talent of the people behind it. On that score, Cotton has a leg up. He grew up reading “MAD Magazine” and loves the parody news publication “The Onion.” “I think humor is the uni- versal language,” he said. Cotton was aware that the agency’s Facebook page had the traditional boring content. So he pitched an idea to the boss to jazz the thing up. Cotton got the okay from his boss so long as he stayed clear of religion and politics – generally two subjects that are guaranteed to jam up cops on social media. It wasn’t long before the laughs started. Cotton posted with a picture of officers in full SWAT gear training on a playground. The caption read, “They con- quered the swing set next. I refuse to show you what happens when there are three SWAT members and only two swings. The officers then went to Jimmy’s house to play Xbox.” And here’s another lesson for people that wonder why no one’s interested in their rage-based social media content. It always helps to have a Duck of Justice, bet- ter known as “DOJ.” DOJ is Cotton’s online sidekick. It’s a preserved and stuffed American wood duck he saved from the dis- trict attorney’s trash bin. Now Cotton sneaks the duck into photos as a kind of “Where’s Waldo” thing. Now the Duck of Justice is so well known it once was the reason a carload of tourists got off a cruise ship to pay a visit because they knew about the duck from reading the department’s Facebook page. “I thought, hey, we’ll use this for a little while, it’ll be funny,” Cotton said. “Now people demand the duck, they want pictures with the duck.” Cotton also brings some flair to the wanted suspects posts. But while this has gotten other agencies in hot water, Cotton’s sense of humor and easygoing style generate nothing but amusement, if not also leads and tips. In the case of a person who stole the donation jar at the Bangor Public Li- brary, he wrote: “From this point on, this person will be referred to as a thieving mis- creant or, TM. The jar was for future improvements and projects at the library. Have you no shame?” So why don’t more agen- cies take advantage of a free Agency’s Facebook page is a global hit Conitnued from page one Remember Police Academy? Left to right: Officer Russ Twaddell, Sgt. James Buck- ley, film star Michael Winslow, and Sgt. Timothy Cotton. Below, Sgt. Cotton and the infamous D.O.J. “You gotta come up with your own thing. I just think you just have to present it in the right light and be careful. I think humor is the universal language.” resource that can help big- time in terms of community outreach and engagement? Cotton knows that just because the Facebook page works for his agency and community, it won’t work elsewhere automatically. “You gotta come up with your own thing,” he said. “I just think you just have to present it in the right light and be careful.” And there’s the secret. Every agency could use a Sgt. Tom Cotton. But not every agency is lucky enough to have one. D.O.J. D.O.J. With so many fans checking out the Bangor PD’s Facebook page, will there be Duck of Justice T-shirts available?