Police Chief Living His Dream

by Jamison Feeley

Safety is paramount in schools, now more than ever. The head of Cape Cod Community College’s security is Officer David McGraw.

“Since I was young, I wanted to be a police officer,” he says, adding that he was inspired to go into criminal justice by a relative who was an officer.

Although it is his dream job, he says it still can take a toll on you.

“Policing can impact your mental health with the things that you see and deal with on a daily basis,” he says.

The training that police officers have to do is rigorous and requires a fair amount of education.

“As far as training goes, we are constantly training as police officers,” he says. “We train yearly on numerous subjects such as defensive tactics, firearms, mental health, legal updates, (and) use of force, just to name a few.”.

McGraw received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Franklin Pierce University and then went through the Plymouth Police Academy.

“I landed my first job as a summer police officer for Falmouth Police Department. The following summer, I worked for the Wareham Police Department. Following that, I was hired as a full-time police officer for Cape Cod Community College, where I currently have been working for 4½ years. In my time at CCCC PD, I was promoted to the rank of sergeant, and recently was promoted to the interim chief of police.”

Through media, especially TV shows, there are many different interpretations of police officers. McGraw mentions a movie called “Rescued by Ruby” as an accurate representation.

“‘Rescued by Ruby,’ the movie based on a true story, I would say is a good example of where a police officer is portrayed accurately. Dan the State Trooper … pursues his dream of being a K-9 officer. … (He) was unsuccessful at first but was determined and never gave up on his dream.”

David McGraw (Kemoy McGowan)

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