West Tisbury chooses new police chief

Updated July 31

It was a tough decision, but the West Tisbury select board unanimously voted to appoint Bradley Cortez, a sergeant with the town’s police department, to be the next police chief. 

Cortez and two other finalists, West Tisbury Police Lt. Matt Gebo and West Tisbury Police Sgt. Jeremie Rogers, were interviewed by the board at West Tisbury town hall on Wednesday before the vote was cast. 

Cortez will replace West Tisbury Police Chief Matt Mincone who is retiring on October 3. 

“It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to serve as chief of police,” Cortez told the Times. “I look forward to keeping up with the West Tisbury Police Department’s standards, traditions, and community style of policing.”

Cortez and the board still have to finalize contract negotiations. Additionally, the board will need to decide whether to make Cortez an acting chief starting on Sept. 4, when Mincone goes on vacation for the month. 

Mincone told the Times he was proud to see “three really good applicants” come from within the department. 

Starting Monday, Mincone will begin showing Cortez the ropes of the duties of a chief. Mincone said Cortez will be able to combine the experiences working under him and former West Tisbury Police Chief Daniel Rossi to lead the town’s department well.

“I think the town has a very good future chief and a very stable corps of officers,” Mincone said. “A chief can’t do it alone.” 

A long-time West Tisbury policeman, Cortez joined the department in 2014. He’s been awarded “Officer of the Year” several times by the department for his community policing efforts. Cortez is in charge of the department’s equipment as the quartermaster. He is also a certified field training officer and a member of the Vineyard Tactical Response Team. Before joining law enforcement, Cortez served in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in two combat tours in Afghanistan. 

Gebo and Rogers, who both started their full-time law enforcement careers in West Tisbury, also carried extensive policing experiences. During the interview process on Wednesday, Gebo said that he climbed the ranks since joining the department in 2009; he was also an “Officer of the Year” recipient in 2020. Gebo supervises the department’s investigations. He is a certified mental health first aid instructor and a member of the crisis intervention team. Gebo also has a criminal justice master’s degree from Bridgewater State University. Rogers has served in law enforcement for 18 years and earned a Juris Doctor degree from UMass Law last year. A 2024 profile by UMass Law on Rogers states he is a “court and field training officer; he is also trained as a school resource officer.”

Cortez’s answers regarding community policing and helping immigrants tipped the scales in his favor. 

Cortez said “community policing is everything” to him. He described community policing as “going above and beyond policing,” developing a relationship with townspeople “built on trust, respect, and the common belief that all of us want what’s best for the town.” Cortez expanded upon his answer and said community policing means being available and approachable in town and showing people “there’s somebody behind that uniform.” 

“I’ve had a motto for a while now — it’s ‘when in town, roll them down,’” Cortez said, adding that keeping the cruiser window down when going through town makes the “simple interactions” with community members more accessible. 

During the interview, screening committee member Bob Wasserman asked what “major challenges” police face. Cortez highlighted “a lot of immigration” and the need to inform people that the police are willing and able to help them. 

“We’re here to help people in the community with whatever problems they have, whatever they need regardless of culture or background or race,” Cortez said. “We’re here to help out, and we need to let people know that we’re available for that.”

At Wednesday’s meeting, town officials and community members commended the quality of the candidates, saying West Tisbury was lucky that all of the finalists came from its own police department. 

The board still had to make the “somewhat impossible decision,” as board member Jessica Miller put it, of choosing one of the candidates to be the next chief. 

Skipper Manter, board member and a former police lieutenant who had worked with all three policemen during his 47-year law enforcement career at the department, initially proposed Gebo for the position. He said that opportunities for promotion were rare at small departments and the board could “move people up a notch” in their career ladders by following the chain of command.

But board chair Cynthia Mitchell and Miller favored Cortez, highlighting his answers regarding community policing and for his readiness to help the immigrant community. 

Mitchell said an “abundance” of recommendation letters supported Cortez and the board received two letters supporting Cortez that can be read on the town’s website. 

Additionally, Mitchell underscored that residents have been worried about protecting immigrant Islanders. That concern was exacerbated on the Vineyard following the federal sweep led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in May that resulted in the detainment of 20 people. 

“We’ve had … other people at these meetings really plead with us to give voice to support for [the] immigrant population,” Mitchell said. “Particularly in these recent, very complicated times.” 

In his closing remarks to the board on Wednesday, Cortez underscored he was ready to continue serving West Tisbury in the new role as police chief. 

“My wife and I are ready for this position. It takes a family,” Cortez said.