Nothing Barring his Way
Sergeant obtains law degree, seeks second career as attorney
By Matt Phillion
With any luck, Sgt. Dave Armstrong of the Georgetown Police Department will be calling himself attorney Dave Armstrong very soon. Sgt. Armstrong, an 18-year veteran of the department, will take the bar exam at the end of this month.
Not to worry - the former DARE officer still known to the students he once worked with as Officer Dave plans on remaining with the department until retirement. But he hopes to juggle day work as an estate law attorney with his nights as a Georgetown police officer.
"Work with the law by day, enforcing the law by night," said Armstrong.
The idea stemmed from a particularly rough arrest Armstrong assisted a state trooper on a few years back. He went home with a torn shirt and fat lip, and seeing this, his wife asked: "Are you going to do this the rest of your life?"
Armstrong decided to go back to school to earn his law degree. Was law school fun?
"No," Armstrong said with a chuckle. "It was probably the most difficult thing I've ever done."
Armstrong was a full-time police officer during law school, with two small children at home. (His son is now 10, and his daughter will be 8 next week.)
Then potential tragedy struck: In the midst of his time at Massachusetts School of Law, Armstrong was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Two surgeries later he is in good health, and he completed his degree.
"This town has been wonderful to me," said Armstrong, who said he and his wife counted over 500 get-well cards from Georgetown residents during his recovery.
Armstrong started his career in law enforcement as a special reserve officer on the Peabody police force. He had the unusual task of being an undercover officer at the North Shore Shopping Center, a job that required sworn officers with full power to arrest.
Armstrong's father was a reserve officer in Peabody, and through him he was able to become
friends with members of the force who directed him to the undercover work.
"It was a career I knew I wanted, and this was a time it was tough to get a job in police work," said Armstrong.
Since being promoted to sergeant, Armstrong handles most of the scheduling duties for the department and spends about a quarter of his time dealing with administrative duties. His time with the department has featured an interesting collection of roles, including acting as the DARE officer until that program fell victim to budget cuts, working undercover for the Merrimack Valley Drug Task Force in sting operations, and arriving to a call just after a baby had been born. He also instituted the "ice cream for helmets" program, rewarding young bicyclists for wearing helmets by giving them a "ticket" for a free ice cream.
"Georgetown has been great to me," said Armstrong. "I consider it my hometown."
This article originally appeared in the Georgetown Record , by Matt Phillion/ Mphillio@Cnc.Com
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