Former Aquinnah Chief of Police, Randhi Belain and now acting Chief, Ryan Ruley embrace. —Nicholas Vukota 
Randhi Belain embraces with his Mother. —Nicholas Vukota 
The Chiefs of Martha’s Vineyard. —Nicholas Vukota 
The Aquinnah Police force. —Nicholas Vukota 
Randhi Belain and family. —Nicholas Vukota 
Randhi Belain (left) and Chief of West Tisbury Police Bradley Cortez. —Nicholas Vukota 
Former Aquinnah Chief of Police Randhi Belain. —Nicholas Vukota 
Randhi Belain signs off one last time. —Nicholas Vukota
“Alpha 10, Chief Belain, singing off,” Randhi Belain said to the dispatcher around 11 am Friday.
Belain, now former Aquinnah police chief, officially retired after more than three decades with the department. The end of his tenure as chief was honored with a sentimental final radio sign-off surrounded by friends, family, and fellow chiefs at the Aquinnah Town Hall.
Belain hailed the dispatcher using his call sign as members of the crowd and Belain himself became emotional.
The radio operator responded, thanking Belain for his service and wishing him well in his next chapter.
“Thank you,” Belain said. “Stay safe, get home to your families, stay educated, and be kind to one another and look up to one another.”
The crowd, which included Aquinnah police officers and other staff, chiefs from all of the Islands’ departments, and Kevin Devine, chairman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), who honored Belain with a ceremonial blanket, clapped and cheered as Belain formally stepped down as chief.
Belain, who served the department for 34 years, will remain with the force as a part-time special officer, effective Nov. 7. Belain followed in the footsteps of his father, Kenneth F. Belain, who previously served in the Aquinnah Police Department for 22 years.
Belain spent more than 20 of his 30 years as chief. Most recently, he guided the department through a severe staffing shortage that, for a time last year, left him as the sole officer. The town relied on Dukes County Sheriff’s Office and Massachusetts State Police for coverage at a significant cost, while they worked to rebuild the police roster.
The Aquinnah Select Board appointed Ryan Ruley, a former Edgartown Police Sergeant and former Oak Bluffs Select Board member, as the new chief of Aquinnah in mid-October. Ruley’s appointment also took effect Friday when he was sworn in in a private ceremony.
Ruley previously said in an interview with The Times that he plans to build on the solid foundation Belain established over the past three decades, with an emphasis on community, open communication, and cooperation with the Aquinnah tribe.
