Bike cop’s legacy a quiet beat

It was 18 years ago that Bangor police Officer Greg Sproul traded in his uniform and police cruiser for a pair of shorts and a bicycle. In a move that was among the very first in the country, Sproul took to the streets of Bangor’s Capehart community on a 12-speed bike and began to change the face of one of Bangor’s most troubled neighborhoods.

Today, streets that were once plagued with vandalism, domestic violence and street brawls have grown quiet, and Capehart, Bangor’s low-income public subsidized housing project, has become the quietest beat in town.

After 25 years of service to the city of Bangor, Sproul will leave his small office at the Bangor Housing Authority today to begin his retirement.

It’s time for him to move on, he told me this week, and retirement from a successful and fulfilling career is to be celebrated. But his retirement is certain to be a loss for a community that embraced him as he embraced it.

Sproul’s efforts, along with those of BHA Director Elsie Coffey, served as a national role model for police departments across the country that sought ways to calm other public housing communities steeped in conflict and crime.

The beauty of the plan that truly transformed the Capehart community lies in its simplicity.

The BHA pays for Sproul’s position, which allows him to devote all of his time to that community.

His connection with BHA and the police department put a whole new spin on things because tenants quickly realized that their behavior and their chance for eviction were indelibly linked.

Meanwhile, Sproul spent time making connections with kids and adults, forming bonds that have lasted decades.

He established the city’s Police Athletic League, and he helped host field trips, neighborhood Christmas parties and after-school programs.

He has been an adviser for single parents worried about a child’s behavior and an ear for elderly tenants who just needed someone to listen to them.

Previously, the city cops who used to patrol that neighborhood spent days and nights running from call to call. It was the busiest beat in the city. Today, it’s so quiet it borders on boring for a patrolling officer.

Sproul has become an invaluable tool for department detectives investigating any crime that does occur there because residents often willingly approach Sproul with information.

Sproul went about his business day after day in his own low-key way. His career did not involve a lot of promotions or front-page stories.

But in my opinion Greg Sproul is primarily responsible for the most successful policing program the city has ever initiated.

Police Chief Don Winslow assured me this week that he has several good candidates prepared to take over Sproul’s role.

His legacy is the safe streets of that neighborhood.

His legacy is large and so are the shoes to be filled.