Wayland’s Newest Officer Reports for Duty

On Thursday, new Wayland Police Officer Mark Hebert reported for his first official day on the job.

He’s glad to be there – brightly reflective traffic vest and all – but achieving the landmark of his first day in uniform didn’t come at an easy price: It cost him 800 hours of training over the course of 21 weeks at the Plymouth Police Academy.

And right in the middle of all that training, his second son was born and Massachusetts had one of the worst winters on record – neither easy to handle with a one-hour commute each way to classes.

Even with those added stresses, Hebert graduated sixth in his class of 46. Now he’s thrilled to be finished with those epic drives, but he knows someone who might be even more pleased they’re over.

“My wife [Ashley] is very excited,” Hebert said. “She’s happy I’m finally there.”

Hebert, a 2004 graduate of Wayland High School, said the first part of the training was primarily academic with textbook-style lessons in criminal law and other topics. Then the classes became more specialized, teaching him how to handle everything from terrorism situations to run-of-the-mill traffic stops.

The training then finished up with hands-on activities during which Hebert and his 45 classmates took part in applied patrols and other standard police actions.

“I’m glad the training is over,” Hebert said, adding that he’s ready to “actually get out on the road.”

But the truth is that Hebert’s training isn’t really over – it’s just that Wayland Police Officer Shane Bowles is now the teacher.

For the next six weeks or so, Hebert will work with Bowles out on the Wayland streets. It’s a time when all of the classroom training gets real-life application.

Bowles jokingly said that about 5 percent of what Hebert learned at the academy is what he’ll use in the real-life day-to-day. It’s Bowles' job now to help Hebert put book and structured knowledge into unexpected-situations action.

In total Hebert will spend 12 weeks, give or take, alongside either Bowles or another officer before he hits the streets on his own. He will transition to solo work with another officer, likely Bowles, shadowing him, and once that officer reports that Hebert is ready, off he goes in his own patrol car.

“[I want to know] that he’s good,” Bowles said. “That he’s going to be able to do his job. If he fits in.”

Hebert is no stranger to the Wayland Police Department. Before becoming a sworn officer, now one of 20 on the Wayland PD, Hebert worked as a dispatcher with the Wayland Joint Communications Center and also served as a member of the Wayland Police Auxiliary.

Hebert said law enforcement doesn’t run in his family, but he’s known for a while that he wanted to become a police officer.

“I thought it would be interesting, and I didn’t want to sit behind a desk,” Hebert said. “And I wanted to help people.”