Interview with Kyle Takakjian -- Truro’s Chief of Police

For 49-year-old Kyle Takakjian, appointed Truro’s Chief of Police this past November, there is a clear pattern to his life, regardless of its twists and turns, a pattern grounded in clear and unchanged values. Those values start with a commitment to public service, an eagerness to make a difference, to meet new people and to learn new skills. That learning, in turn, opens up the path to leadership and the chance to mentor others along the same journey.

As a teenager, for example, Kyle joined the volunteer fire department in his home town of Piermont, New York on the day he turned 16. As a junior member he could not go on calls, but he learned to scuba dive; and by 17 he was a member of the dive team working with incidents in the Hudson River. At age 18, he was promoted to Lieutenant, responsible for leading the team, then promoted again to Assistant Foreman, responsible for management of exterior fireground operations and firefighting equipment.

Trained in welding at a technical high school, Kyle went to work right after graduation -- and might have stayed in Piermont if his older brother Eric hadn’t telephoned one day with a tempting suggestion.

Eric just finished his active duty requirement with the Coast Guard and found himself stationed in Provincetown. “You ought to come up here,” he told his brother. “We could start a business together welding, diving, working on the fleet of fishing and commercial boats ...”

Kyle hesitated. “I don’t know much about commercial boats,” he admitted.

“So do what I did,” Eric suggested. “Join the Coast Guard.”

Kyle called a recruiter that day, and was on his way to boot camp 18 days later.

The Coast Guard has been one of the dominant forces in Kyle’s life, second only to his work in law enforcement. He remains a member of the Reserve today, promoted up the ranks to Master Chief Petty Officer, the highest rank in the enlisted workforce. As Reserve Command Master Chief for the First Coast Guard District he works outside the chain of command, advising the District Commander Admiral Daniel Neptun on personnel and workforce issues pertaining to the over 960 enlisted reservists serving within the First District.

The Coast Guard offered Kyle an extraordinary opportunity to develop and use his leadership skills. Over his 28-year career he completed the Coast Guard’s Senior Enlisted Leadership Course and the Chief Petty Officer’s Academy, both designed to develop management skills concerned with human resource, organizational development, and communications expertise. For two years he served as one of the first ever “Company Chief Petty Officers” at the Coast Guard Academy teaching, coaching, and mentoring cadets. All these programs would teach him specific skills that would prove valuable during his career in law enforcement. Of particular importance was his work with Coast Guard Admirals, Senior Civilian Executives and Command Master Chiefs at the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute’s Senior Executive Seminar. His work focused specifically on the challenges of recruiting, developing, and retaining a diversified workforce, challenges he will face as Truro’s Chief of Police.

Even while Kyle was working, learning, and growing through his Coast Guard Service he was building a career in law enforcement.

Kyle arrived on the Outer Cape in 1984, moving to Provincetown once his initial year of active Coast Guard Service was completed. As planned, he and his brother went into business launching K&E (for Kyle and Eric) Marine Services and Blue Night welding.

Both businesses would last for several years and provide a steady income. But neither satisfied Kyle’s push toward public service. So in 1986 he signed on as an auxiliary patrolman in Provincetown. In 1988 he was hired as a full time officer in Truro, and sent to the Barnstable County Police Academy.

He found his calling.

“I loved the job from the start,” he remembers. “It’s really dynamic. Every day is different. It’s not all lights and sirens, but it’s exciting. It’s pubic service and working on a team. I was struck by the sense of mission people feel, and their commitment to each other and to the community.”

Once again, Kyle would throw himself into the learning opportunities. While serving as a patrol officer, he took on responsibilities as cruiser maintenance officer, crime prevention officer, community relations officer, firearms/range officer, and staff instructor with both the Cape Cod Regional Law Enforcement Council and the Massachusetts Police Training Committee. The skills he learned he would teach to others, working with officers and supervisors alike from all over Massachusetts in subjects such as active shooter response, high-risk vehicle stops, and low-light shooting techniques.

To supplement the leadership skills he learned in the Coast Guard, Kyle worked through the New England Institute of Law Enforcement Management’s Command Training Program at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. Most recently, he broadened his academic knowledge of criminal justice through the Bachelor of Science program at Roger Williams University, earning his degree in May 2009.

“Graduation was an especially important moment,” Kyle remembers, “because I could have my family with me,” including his partner, Susan Travers, who is director of Truro’s Council on Aging, her daughters, Julie and Leslie, and his sons, Marc and Greg.

Settled in Truro since 1984, even with his educational and professional commitments Kyle has always found time to make a civic contribution, too. He volunteers in the schools and with the Special Olympics, and he pilots his own plane for Angel Flight Northeast. He currently serves as the Board President for Highland Affordable Housing, as well; and he was the driving force behind the installation of a school zone on Route 6 in front of Truro Central School.

These are exciting times for the newly-appointed Chief. This is his chance to implement the skills he has developed over a lifetime of learning. “As Chief I have a particular responsibility to the work force; I’m responsible for their development, their growth, and their success.“

It is a challenge he relishes.

“As the department moves forward, we’ll spend time developing the leadership abilities in our supervising staff, our lieutenant, and our sergeants. I plan to push authority and responsibility down, and give people the assets they need to expand into their jobs.

“There is still some mistrust of the department in town. But I think we can erase that over time, as folks see what we do, how we work with the community, and that we’re prudent financial stewards.

“We’ll be adding four new people this year, too, filling the spots that have opened up. What a tremendous opportunity that is -- to work together to develop a shared sense of purpose along with the work skills to excel and the assets to grow individually and as a team.”

Sincerely,

Curtis Hartman
Chair, Board of Selectmen
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