That conviction was affirmed in high school, when he accompanied Brattleboro police officers — members of the department he now heads — on ride-alongs on career day.

“It’s always something I’ve been interested in,” he said.

But most departments don’t take high school graduates with no experience. So, when he was 17 and his family moved from Brattleboro to Arizona, Fitzgerald enlisted in the Marine Corps soon after. As it turned out, he enjoyed military service and spent two decades on active duty as a scout observer in the Marines.

“When 20 years flew by and it was time for me to retire, there was no doubt that I was going to come back home,” he said.

Fitzgerald, 56, joined the Brattleboro Police Department 18 years ago, and he’s been chief for nearly four years.

In that time, he has worked to increase the department’s outreach to and investment in the community.

He’s changed the department’s mission statement, encouraged youth outreach and emphasized the importance of substance abuse prevention as well as recovery for those with addictions.

Fitzgerald’s personal involvement with the Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition has boosted the department’s engagement with the community on issues of substance use, mental illness and education for children and parents.

When he isn’t behind his desk at the police station or attending one of the coalition’s events, Fitzgerald says he spends time with his family. His wife of 18 years, Lisa, is a travel consultant and the owner and president of Fitzgerald Travel. Together they have four adult children — Melissa, Holly, Steven and Laura Beth — and six grandchildren.

By default, they’re fans of the Red Sox and the Patriots, he said.

The family enjoys the New England outdoors. During the summer, the Fitzgeralds travel, attend sporting events, go camping and take walks in the woods — he said with a laugh he “wouldn’t classify it as hiking.”

“Winters are hard for us,” he said jokingly.

Since they’re confined to indoors and warm spaces, Fitzgerald said the coldest months are spent at auctions and antique shops, in addition to working on the restoration of their 175-year-old farmhouse.

While he dedicates his personal time to his family, Fitzgerald was recognized last week for using his professional time to increase awareness and education of substance use disorders in his hometown.

Honored as a prevention champion

Prevention Works! VT is a network of groups that work to decrease the prevalence of tobacco use, drug use and underage drinking across the state. The coalitions particularly target youth in their initiatives.

The organization hosted Prevention Day at the statehouse in Montpelier, Vt., Thursday and recognized six prevention champions, Fitzgerald among them.

Cassandra Holloway, executive director of the Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition, nominated Fitzgerald for the award. He has served on the coalition’s steering committee for three years. She said his law enforcement experience helps him present all sides of the issue.

“He’s talking about the full breadth of substance use disorder, but he always makes sure that prevention is part of the conversation,” Holloway said.

Fitzgerald is very active in the coalition’s events, she said, from leading community forums on public safety to creating a video about how parents can broach the topic of substance abuse with their children.

While heroin use seems to be climbing in many communities, Holloway pointed out that alcohol, tobacco and other drugs still pose a problem to neighborhoods.

“Opiates definitely get the highlight right now because they’re so prominent, but he also understands that it’s all substances that are impacting our community,” she said. “… He’s very aware of, that this isn’t just about opioids. This is about anything that people are struggling with and how to keep our young people from getting involved with substances in the first place.”

Holloway said the youth component is critical, and authority figures play a big role in shaping children’s views on matters like drugs and alcohol.

“(Fitzgerald) is very good at making sure that the police are very engaged with our kids,” she said.

The department’s engagement includes partnering with the Boys & Girls Club of Brattleboro, visiting schools during recess and lunch breaks, and participating in Bigs in Blue, a program by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America that lets an officer spend time with a child and serve as a role model.

Increasing participation in these initiatives and outreach programs has been part of Fitzgerald’s mission since he became police chief nearly four years ago.

A shift in focus

“I wish more communities had law enforcement shift as this department has,” Holloway said.

The Brattleboro Police Department’s shift was entirely intentional, and Fitzgerald said it was necessary to become more community-oriented.

“We had to change to culture of the (police department),” he said. “We had to rebrand the PD.”

Part of his goal was to get officers to think about more than just the enforcement aspect of policing. The department’s new mission statement reflects that.

“Make sure you know the difference between those who need our help, those who’ve made a poor decision and those who choose to victimize others,” Fitzgerald said. “… No one’s getting a free pass here, but how are you being held accountable is the difference.”

And some of those cultural changes are still occurring. In November, Brattleboro police partnered with the Police-Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative, a national program focused on removing barriers to treatment as well as the stigma surrounding addiction. The emphasis moves to recovery and is less about incarceration.

Fitzgerald said many of the initiatives he’s pushed in his department look at the root of what’s causing crime in the area. He pointed out that police officers are in contact with people with addictions and mental health crises on a regular basis.

“We should be well-versed in how to get them the help they need,” he said, “and we should be very well-versed in the prevention aspect, before they get to that point.”

Though he’s only served on the Brattleboro coalition’s steering committee for three years, Fitzgerald said he’s been involved with the group since about 2010. He thinks the coalition is critical to tackling substance abuse issues in a town or city, because it gathers several organizations for brainstorming and discussions.

“It all ties together,” he said. “Let’s get all our resources together and come up with a really good solution to this problem.”

While noting that Brattleboro faces many of the same crimes and concerns as other towns, Fitzgerald said his department is unique because of the support it receives.

“I’m spoiled,” he said. “I really have a great community that’s backing me.”

Fitzgerald didn’t know that Holloway had nominated him for the award until he was named a winner. He said he didn’t understand how he alone could deserve to be honored when he knew so many people in prevention work in his hometown and across the state.

“This is not me getting the award. I’m just a face, because there’s a whole bunch of people behind me,” he said. “… This is the Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition, which is exactly that: a coalition of a really dedicated group of people.”