Sgt. Bradley Cortez of the West Tisbury Police Department will be the town’s next police chief.  

The town select board voted unanimously Wednesday evening to select Mr. Cortez after interviews with three finalists. Mr. Cortez beat out two other internal candidates, Lieut. Matt Gebo and Sgt. Jeremie Rogers. 

Board members were impressed with Mr. Cortez’s approachability, attitude towards community policing and dedication to helping the Island’s immigrant population. 

Select board member Jessica Miller was most impressed by Mr. Cortez’s mention of the immigrant population when asked about the issues that the department faces today. 

“I really appreciate his thoughtfulness about the immigrant population and that we are here to serve them as well,” Ms. Miller said. “To me, that is incredibly important.”

During his interview, Mr. Cortez said that police are here to protect everyone in town. 

“The current climate of the police is there’s a lot of immigration, all of that stuff,” he said. “We’re here to help people in the community with whatever problems they have, whatever they need, regardless of culture or background or race. We’re here to help out, and we need to let people know that we’re available for them. We have resources and we have officers willing to help them.” 

When asked what community policing entailed, he emphasized the importance of being a friendly figure in the town.  

“I’ve had a motto for a while now. When in town, roll them down. When you’re going through town, you put the windows down,” he said. “It’s as simple as a wave. You yell hi to somebody, whether you’re going through the parking lot at Conroy’s, Alley’s or Cronig’s. It’s just a simple interaction , [it] just goes a long way. That’s the heart of community policing.” 

Select board chair Cynthia Mitchell voted for Mr. Cortez ultimately due to his accessible nature.   

“Everyone who knows him has experienced his style of policing,” she said. “He’s a just larger than life presence.” 

Mr. Cortez joined the police department in 2014 and was promoted to sergeant in 2022. During his tenure, he’s been a certified field training officer and member of the Martha’s Vineyard Tactical Response team. A veteran of the U.S. Army, he has been voted West Tisbury’s officer of the year several times by his colleagues. 

Mr. Cortez will be taking over the chief’s position from Matt Mincone, who is set to retire in October after more than 30 years of service.

Ms. Miller thanked the three finalists for their interest. 

“I would like to say with sincerity and gratitude to all the applicants and all three candidates for their service to the town to this date and hopefully going forward,” she said.