Lisbon Police Chief David

Brooks has retired from law enforcement after 42 years with the department.

Scott Stewart, who is a captain for Cumberland County Sheriff ’s Office and former member of Lisbon Police Department, has been appointed as Lisbon’s interim chief.

A Navy brat growing up, Brooks planned to enter the military after graduating from Brunswick High School in 1972. His father, however, who had finished a career in the Navy, wanted his son to be the first on his side of the family to go to college.

Brooks followed his father’s wishes and enrolled in the criminal justice program at the University of Maine at Augusta.

After graduating, he worked parttime for a couple of months at the Richmond Police Department, before coming to Lisbon in 1974.

There, he worked through the ranks until he was appointed chief in December 1980. Brooks knew the town and its people. Lisbon was a pretty busy place, he said. There were more bars and night life than exists today. At the time, there were only eight officers.

However, by 1999, ranks swelled to 16 full-time officers. As of Friday, there will be 12 full-time officers.

“I’ve got a good group of people here,” he said Tuesday.

Brooks said the department needs to undergo some rebuilding. The department is also losing Lt. Dan Michel and Det. Bernie McAllister, who are retiring. There will be a transition period when the new chief is appointed.

The nature of crime in Lisbon has also changed. Brooks said statistics show an increase in assaults and burglaries. Drugs, including heroin, are very prevalent, he said.

As part of its public outreach, the department has run a D.A.R.E. program for nearly 30 years, funded completely through donations. For the last six years, the department has held a citizen’s police academy.

Brooks said he would expect the new chief to share the same community philosophy.

“We cannot do it on our own,” he said. “We need the community involved.”

Brooks said he will miss the department, but it’s a change he’s ready for. In his time there, he has been charged at by someone wielding a butcher knife, hospitalized with concussions sustained in physical altercations and has taken down a burglar at gunpoint.

But there are the feel-good moments too. A man who he’d arrested years ago recently stopped by to thank him for his part in getting him off the dangerous path he was on. There have been others who have come back to thank him too.

Those who work in law enforcement need support from loved ones, said Brooks, who said his wife of 41 years, Lynne, remains his strongest advocate. They have two children

— a daughter who works as a special education teacher and a son who is a police officer in another department. They have three grandchildren.

Brooks plans to enjoy retirement — he and his wife want to see the country.

“You’ll probably see me on Route 66,” he said.

dmoore@timesrecord.com