BOXFORD — Novelist Robert Parker wrote a series of books based on the premise: Urban cop moves far from the madding crowd to take a job as police chief in a small, wealthy, bucolic town.
The real-life case in point is new Boxford police Chief Michael Murphy, who just arrived following a 25-year career in the Revere Police Department.
And, yes, he has been asked again and again — "six ways to Sunday," he says with a smile — if policing the tree-lined streets of rural Boxford is going to be boring.
In fact, he admits, convincing the selectmen that he would find their town stimulating enough became the biggest obstacle to winning the job.
Boxford already has police officers, he said, and they find plenty to do.
"They're not bored," he said. "In the event I find myself getting bored, I can go do what they do."
Murphy concedes that his Revere background "might have raised some eyebrows" when he applied for the job. He acknowledges how some regard the city but says emphatically that the popular image of Revere as plagued by crime and corruption is overblown.
Revere, he believes, has all the pluses and minuses of any city its size. And he plays down just how mean its street are — "It all pales in comparison to Boston," he said.
As for his own reputation, he notes that his background was gone over pretty thoroughly: "If I have a reputation for anything, it's for honesty."
Murphy has a three-year contract in Boxford at nearly $120,000 per year.
Born in East Boston, Murphy, 58, grew up in Revere, graduating from Revere High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Curry College and served a stint in the Navy during the Vietnam War era.
He spent a few years working as a police officer in a small Connecticut city before the lure of Revere called him back to a job at General Electric. Murphy, who is married and has two children — a son and a daughter, now grown — had to wait to get a spot on the Revere Police Department.
Hired in 1986, he moved quickly up the ladder, from sergeant to lieutenant to captain in 2001. Along the way, he developed his philosophy of what a good police officer must be.
"You have to have some street smarts. You need to be literate. ... You have to read so many things today. And you have to be patient and a little empathetic, particularly in an urban environment where you're dealing with a lot of people who are less fortunate than the rest of us."
Patience was something he showed early on, in Connecticut, in one of the few times he pulled his weapon, facing down the belligerent brother of a homicide suspect. The young fellow had taken to a rooftop and was firing a bow and arrow toward a crowd of people.
"I thought I had a shot at him," Murphy said.
But he held back, and he's been glad ever since. The potential target, eventually disarmed, turned out to be a 15-year-old boy.
In Revere, he was increasingly involved with the administrative side of things, managing personnel and working with the licensing board or the courts. But he could also find himself on Revere Beach helping calm a crowd of 2,000 fans worked up over the results of a World Cup soccer match.
He's not likely to face that sort of challenge in Boxford, a department with a little more than a dozen full-time officers (Revere has nearly 100). Still, he has no doubt that the skills he honed over 25 years will be useful.
"There's not so much crime here," Murphy said, but he expects to be a hands-on chief. Wearing his well-cut Boxford police uniform, he sits back in one of the most woodsy police stations around, saying, "I've been in uniform for almost my entire career. I like it."
Traffic control will be a key part of his duties. The roads are winding, sometimes treacherous, and side routes are sometimes too narrow for two cars to pass at the same time. Storms mean patrolling for tree limbs and wires on the road.
Homes can be vacant at times and potentially attract house breaks — which requires working closely with departments in surrounding towns.
Instead of those less fortunate, in Boxford, he might have to deal with high-powered people sometimes carrying a sense of entitlement.
"I'm not intimidated," he said.
With a home in Saugus, Murphy doesn't expect to move to Boxford. For one thing, there's still that tie to Revere, as his wife continues to teach there.
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
Hurricane Forecast: 15 Named Storms Expected
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Search Intensifies for Missing Louisiana Woman
Bloomberg: Man Implicates Self in Etan Patz Case
NYPD: Person Implicated in Etan Patz Death
Raw Video: Fire on Nuke-powered Sub in Maine
Illegal Burn Suspected in Nevada Fire
Obama: 'We've Got More Work to Do'
Astrologers Predict Outcome of Presidential Race
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
FAMU Bandmates: Victim Volunteered to Be Hazed
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
Raw Video: Tornado Appears During Wedding
Raw Video: Passed Out Man Robbed
Inquiry Hears Wider Secret Service Misbehavior
HP to Cut 27,000 Jobs, Save Up to $3.5B
