Marion harbormaster employee headed back to school for police job
Jan 3, 2020
Peter Bourgault (left) shakes hands with Town Administrator Jay McGrail. Photo by: Grace Ballenger
Peter Bourgault (left) sits with Police Chief John Garcia at the Board of Selectmen meeting. Photo by: Grace Ballenger
MARION — Peter Bourgault, the assistant harbormaster, will leave his position to become a full-time Student Police Officer on Jan. 6.
The Marion Police Department had two spots open, after officer Scott Cowan resigned to join the Wareham Police Department in October 2019, and Officer Anthony DiCarlo left on Dec. 27 to join the State Police.
Police Chief John Garcia put out a call to the department’s part-time employees, which included Bourgault, after Cowan left to see if they would take on a full-time position. Bourgault said he decided to pursue the position because of his interest in public safety and law enforcement access.
He was then on the waitlist for a spot at Police Academy. When a spot opened up, he took his fitness test on Dec. 26, and passed with ease.
Selectmen voted at a Jan. 3 meeting to appoint him as a full-time student police officer so he could start.
Garcia said that Bourgault will have limited authority as a student officer, but that having him is “going to help out a lot.” He is expected to finish Police Academy in early June 2020.
The Police Department is still looking to fill one full-time spot, and the Harbormaster’s office will look to replace Bourgault.
