KENNEBUNK — On the desk of Kennebunk Police Chief Robert MacKenzie rests a piece of the Yellow Brick Road.
No, MacKenzie is not a collector of classic movie memorabilia, nor has he transcended the bounds of reality and visited the mythical land of Oz. His journey, from which he has recently returned, was far more terrestrial in nature: Shortly before Christmas, MacKenzie returned from an 11-week trip to FBI Headquarters in Quantico, Va., where he took part in a program that he feels will help him in his role at the helm of the Kennebunk Police Department.
Having been hand-picked from among scores of hopeful law enforcement personnel from around the country and the world, MacKenzie participated in the FBI National Academy, a professional course of study that, according to the FBI website, “serves to improve the administration of justice in police departments and agencies at home and abroad, and to raise law enforcement standards, knowledge, and cooperation worldwide.”
While most of the program consisted of coursework, one of MacKenzie’s crowning achievements was the completion of an optional fitness challenge, an obstacle course that became known as the Yellow Brick Road. The 6.1-mile course earned its nickname from the yellow bricks placed at various spots to show runners the way through the wooded trail.
“There’s a bunch of obstacles you have to go through,” said MacKenzie. Those who opted to take the fitness challenge were tasked with climbing over walls, running through creeks, jumping through simulated windows, scaling rock faces with ropes, crawling under barbed wire in muddy water, and other physically exhaustive challenges ”“ a grueling ordeal that left MacKenzie’s body purring like a freshly tuned-up car.
“I’m probably in better shape than when I graduated from the Maine (Police) Academy 20 years ago,” he said.
His reward for successfully completing the challenge, a yellow brick affixed to a gleaming wooden plaque, arrived at the station on Wednesday and serves as a reminder of his accomplishment. But what he considers most important about his 11-week adventure was the coursework itself, an exercise in education and philosophy that MacKenzie hopes will benefit the department.
One of his favorite courses, “Spirituality, Wellness, and Vitality,” left an indelible impression.
“This is what’s been missing from law enforcement,” said MacKenzie. “If you look at a cop’s job, it is a tough job. Divorce rates are high, and suicide rates are high. This (course) just has to do with creating an atmosphere of taking care of yourself, taking care of your families.”
After the department’s budget season is over, MacKenzie plans on imparting some of this course’s philosophy to his officers, with the hope that it will help them cope with the stress of their jobs.
“It’s that philosophy of having that faith, and looking out for one another,” he said. “The thing about being a cop is, you have to be tough. You deal with big-stress situations. Each stress is like a rock you put in this backpack; you don’t talk about them. You suck it up.
“But you have to take those rocks out of your backpack sometimes, or it can affect you in negative ways.”
While in Virginia, MacKenzie joined 264 law enforcement officers from different corners of the nation, including 20 international students from countries such as Germany, Denmark and Romania. MacKenzie was the only police officer from Maine to attend; only 1 percent of applicants to the program make it to Virginia, and some stay on a waiting list for as long as 10 years.
While he stayed in contact through e-mail during his weeks down south, other officers helped to maintain the department throughout his absence, in particular Lieutenant Russell French, who is himself on a waiting list to attend the FBI National Academy.
“I’m hoping that his experiences will benefit other people in the department,” said French. “It’s the best police training in, probably, the world. Everybody I’ve talked to comes back energized.”
French hopes that he will be able to attend the academy without too long a wait. Maine, being a smaller state, is awarded fewer slots in the program than some other states, and how long French will have to wait remains unclear.
But it is an aspiration he considers important to his own professional goals.
“I’m looking forward to becoming a chief someday myself,” said French. “It’s quite an honor to go.”
MacKenzie, in the meantime, will come away with not just a new outlook on his profession, but with a new friendship, as well. While in Virginia, MacKenzie volunteered to be paired with an international roommate, and shared quarters with Marian Matie, chief of Brigade for the Romanian National Police Force.
The two became so close that, when MacKenzie flew back to Maine for a week to spend time with his family at Thanksgiving, he brought Matie along, showing his friend a full gamut of New England geography, from the rocky waters of the Maine coast to the rugged mountains of New Hampshire, where MacKenzie has family.
“We really bonded,” said MacKenzie. “We really connected. It was great having him experience the Thanksgiving tradition.”
MacKenzie gives thanks to Town Manager Barry Tibbetts for supporting his trip to Quantico, as well as to his wife, for being patient and supportive during the weeks while he was away.
All that remains is to see whether his new outlook catches on with Kennebunk Police.
“I really wanted the officers to see this,” said MacKenzie, “and be inspired.”
— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 319, or at jlagasse@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
