ROCHESTER –  After posting a first day of school video to their Facebook page, the Rochester Police Department has gone viral, garnering over 860,000 views and 20,000 reactions since posting the video on Friday, Aug. 29.

The video showed Chief Michael Assad, Lieutenant Zack Dupere and Superintendent Michael Nelson boarding a school bus while wearing Paw Patrol backpacks to ride to Rochester Memorial School with kindergartners on their first day of school.

Assad said that the idea came to him because  he had a few Paw Patrol backpacks lying around and thought it would be fun for him, his Llieutenant, and the Ssuperintendent to join the kindergarteners on their way to school. 

“I just wanted to really try to put parents and kids in their own nice little comfort zone to feel comfortable about going to school the first day,” he said. 

The department’s claim to fame comes shortly after the Rochester Police Department received recognition from the New England Association of Chiefs of Police, winning second place in the 2024 Community Policing category for towns with less than 15,000 residents.

According to Rochester Town Administrator Cameron Durant, “Second place didn’t sit well with them.”

He added, “Team RPD is working hard on first place for next year.”

Assad said “it’s crazy” that the video became viral in a town that only has around 6,500 residents.

“I think it's great for our town to get out there and people get to see what we do in Rochester,” he continued, “We may be a small town, but we have a big impact.”