WATERVILLE — Deputy Chief William Bonney, of the Waterville police, is heading to the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, for a 10-week course of study for law enforcement executives, police Chief Joseph Massey announced Friday.
Bonney, 42, and a 20-year employee of the Police Department, will start his training Monday and is expected to graduate Dec. 14.
The FBI offers the 10-week course, materials, lodging and meals free for 250 officers, 50 of whom are from law enforcement agencies abroad.
Coursework is designed to provide law enforcement professionals with the tools to tackle the challenges of policing in the 21st century effectively, according to Massey.
“I’m very pleased that he’s going,” Massey said Friday. “I think it’s a great opportunity for him. It’s certainly going to help him in his professional development, and it’s going to be a great training for him, and he will benefit from his experience.”
Massey, who in 1996 was the first Waterville police officer to attend the academy, said Bonney will take graduate coursework in law, behavioral science, forensic science, intelligence theory, management science, terrorism-terrorist mindset, leadership, health and fitness, and media relations.
In 2010, then-Waterville Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey attended the academy. Rumsey now is the Cumberland police chief.
Bonney on Friday was preparing for his trip to the academy, anxious to get to work.
“It’s obviously an awesome opportunity. It’s literally the best executive training in the world for law enforcement,” he said. “It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Bonney started working for the department in 1998. In 2003, he was appointed the South End police officer and worked in that area two years before being promoted to detective in 2005. In 2007, he was promoted to sergeant and served as patrol sergeant, communications center sergeant and detective sergeant for nine years. He was promoted to deputy chief in 2016.
He said he will miss his family during his time at the academy and appreciates the city’s allowing him to go. What he learns there ultimately will help the city, he said.
“I believe it’s a mutually beneficial endeavor,” he said.
Massey said being at the academy with law enforcement officers from abroad allows American officers to share ideas and thoughts on a wide range of complex law enforcement issues. It also gives them opportunities to form lifelong relationships with colleagues from around the world, he said.
Only about 3 percent of officers in the U.S. get to attend the academy because there is such a high demand, according to Massey. The application process is long and involves extensive FBI background checks.
Massey said Bonney is uniquely qualified for the academy and will excel in the academic and social environment there.
“It really is the most prestigious training that a law enforcement executive can get during his career,” he said.
During Bonney’s absence, Detective Sgt. Lincoln Ryder will serve as acting deputy chief, according to Massey.
“We’re going to be sharing some of Bill’s duties,” he said. “Lincoln will continue to supervise the detective division, but he’ll take some additional duties Bill had.”
Amy Calder — 861-9247
Twitter: @AmyCalder17
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