Natick PD Facebook Page Gets New Tone As Officer Retires

NATICK, MA — Scrolling through the Natick Police Department's Facebook page, it's easy to see the officers controlling it have a sense of humor. From photos illustrating a gas station visit gone wrong to dubbing surveillance video with Michael Jackson songs, so the suspected thief looks like he's dancing — the administrators of the page had a unique style of posting.

On Friday, one of those administrators, Lt. Brian Grassey, announced he was approaching retirement and will be handing the page over to a new generation of officers. Grassey ran the page alongside Detective Jason Sutherland, who created the page ten years ago. Taking over for the pair will be Public Information Officer and Operations Commander Lt. Cara Rossi, Lead Dispatcher Charles Goodwin and “a player to be named later.”

Grassey's post reads in part:

"I wanted to take a minute to say thank you to those of you who have taken time to read, comment and help us through the years. While our page seems similar to others it has provided great benefit to our organization. Beyond allowing us to introduce ourselves to the community the broader audience has helped us to solve a multitude of crimes. Dozens of individuals have been identified by viewers of this page who would have otherwise never been prosecuted. Many other communities have tried to emulate the page, but they do not enjoy the same interaction or success.The willingness of the news media to spread our message is often because of the din created by our followers. You find it interesting; they notice, we clear cases. You are appreciated because you help us do our job."

The post garnered close to 800 reactions and over 100 comments, praising the page and department's work. "As the original authors, the both of you have done an outstanding job of melding important information with public service information with humor," one comment read.

Lt. Grassey did not disclose exactly when he will be retiring but warned the shift from page administrators will happen in the coming weeks. "You may detect a slight change in voice in the coming weeks, but certainly not mission," he said, "I am confident that you will be as kind to them as you have been to us for this last decade."