At retirement, the career of community-focused Cape Cod patrol officer (original) (raw)

May 27, 2026, 5:05 a.m. ET

• Barnstable Police Community Liaison Officer Brian Morrison is retiring on June 30 after more than 30 years on the force.
• Morrison is known for his extensive community policing efforts and involvement with numerous local organizations.
• Throughout his career, Morrison faced challenges as an officer of color but worked to build trust within the community.

As a Memorial Day assembly concluded at Barnstable United Elementary School on May 22, a girl drew near to Barnstable Police Community Liaison Officer Brian Morrison, reached up as high as she could, and gave the 6' 4" officer a hand-drawn, crayon-covered picture.

Morrison, 55, was ushering roughly 700 students out of the school gymnasium. But in that moment, he immediately stopped what he was doing, flashed a toothy grin, and leaned down to thank the girl for the gift.

Throughout the years, Morrison has collected many pieces of artwork from students, he said. The drawings will serve as tangible memories after he retires from the Barnstable Police Department on June 30.

"I realized early on in my career that the job would always be bigger than me — because it's about the people. It's about community," said Morrison in a phone interview with the Times.

'A true community liaison officer'

Morrison joined the force in 1993 and is currently assigned to the Hyannis Youth and Community Center, in addition to his school resource duties. Morrison is also the Adopt-A-School officer for Hyannis West Elementary School, according to the police department.

For the entirety of his career, according to a Barnstable Police Department statement, Morrison has made community policing his passion.

"He is a true community liaison officer in every sense," read the statement, which was emailed to the Times. "His career stands as a shining example of community policing at its finest. The Barnstable Police Department is proud to have called him one of our own."

Morrison is involved with community organizations including Kiwanis International, Hyannis Elks, Masons, Moose, People of Action, Amplify POC, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. He also contributes to community movements like Toys for Tots, the Cape Cod Rail Trail Bike Rodeo, Dream Day on Cape Cod in Brewster, and Spectacle of Trees.

Among other awards, in 2004, Morrison won Big Brother of the Year from Big Brothers Big Sisters; and in 2019, he was given the Law Enforcement Commendation Award by the Cape Cod Chapter of the Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. In 2021 he was recognized by the Massachusetts Black and Latino Caucus with the Excellence Award for community service. Morrison was also named Barnstable's Officer of the Year in 2024, and in two other years prior, he said.

Since she's known him, said Kiwanis International Lt. Gov. Tammy Gray with the Mashpee chapter, Morrison has had an uncanny ability to motivate everyone around him.

"Everything he does, I just want to be right along with him," Gray said. "It will take every bit of the community, and then some, to fill his shoes."

Despite challenges, Morrison has made the most of his career

Morrison began his policing career in 1993 as a Barnstable Police Summer Special after serving seven years in the United States Navy.

Morrison was hired as a full-time patrol officer in 1997. And in 2012, he was appointed as a community liaison officer by then-Chief Paul MacDonald, said Morrison. At that time, said Morrison, MacDonald understood that there was a gap between the police and the community.

"It felt like us against them at that time and we needed to gain the public's trust," said Morrison.

MacDonald, he said, wanted to use Morrison as a community policing vehicle.

"Chief MacDonald said, 'I think you’re the guy to do it,'" said Morrison.

At first, he said, it was difficult to split time between service calls and community outreach. But when the department opened its police annex at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center in 2009, Morrison began working with people of all ages, including people with disabilities and the elderly.

It was a breakthrough for Morrison, he said, especially with children of color.

"Back then kids of color — they didn’t want to talk to the police whatsoever," he said. Morrison also began branching out and working with children through the YMCA's Y-Achievers Program. It was another opportunity, he said, to spend time with youth from marginalized communities.

Morrison, said George Noonan, assistant director of recreation for the town of Barnstable, is always looking to help his neighbor.

"His generosity knows no bounds. His idea of making the Cape and Barnstable, in particular, a better place is unmatched," said Noonan, who said he first met Morrison in high school.

Challenges as a police officer of color

When Morrison became a police officer, he faced challenges inside and outside the police department. Some of his peers and coworkers, he said, "felt like, here comes this person of color - he thinks he's gonna come save the world."

"Some things have gotten better over time. Some things have remained the same," said Morrison.

But his biggest challenge, he said, was proving himself to the Cape's community of color.

"They felt like all police officers were the same. That I would be another one of those guys with a badge oppressing our people," he said. "I remember thinking that this was going to be more difficult than I thought."

Throughout his career, people have called Morrison derogatory names and have flung racial slurs at him. During those tough times, Morrison said he often thought about his father, Geroge Morrison, who served as both an auxiliary officer and a parking patrol officer for the Barnstable Police Department before he died in 2006.

"I often thought that if my father could push through adversity and racism, then I can stick this out," he said. "It didn't happen overnight, but I believe I have changed minds, attitudes, and positions on who I was. For the better."

Family over everything

The first word that comes to mind when thinking about Brian Morrison, said Jeanne Morrison, Brian Morrison's sister, is loyalty.

"He has always been very family-oriented. Brian learned early on how to form his own relationship with everybody," his sister said.

Morrison's parents George and Mary Morrison arrived in Mashpee in 1959 and later bought a house in a segregated neighborhood in Hyannis, where they raised their seven children. Brian Morrison was the baby. In addition to his parents, he also had a longtime caretaker named Adeline.

"Adeline kept him. My mother kept him. We all kept him. Brian was a special little boy — he was sweet, he was kind," his sister said.

As he grew up in Hyannis, Morrison attended Barnstable High School and his first paying job was as a newspaper delivery boy for the Cape Cod Times. Within every stage of his life, their parents emphasized character traits that would later help Brian Morrison as a police officer, his sister said.

"Even when someone gives you their worst, my parents would say, 'Turn the other cheek and give them your best," Jeanne Morrison said.

What's next for Morrison

Morrison has served under five police chiefs including Chief Neil Allan Nightingale, Chief John Finnegan, Chief MacDonald, Chief Matthew Sonnabend, and current Chief Jean Challies, and has interacted with countless police officers over the years.

"It's an emotional rollercoaster right now. Mentally and emotionally my heart will always be there," said Morrison. "But it's time to move on and let someone younger, with more energy, pick up where I left off."

For Noonan, there will never be another Brian Morrison.

"Someone might fill the position, but no one will ever be able to fill those shoes," said Noonan.

As Morrison transitions from community policing, he said he will be spending more time with his wife of three years Eren Morrison, his three daughters, and his grandchildren.

"I have some really important people that I want to spend more time with. I adore them," he said.

But Morrison's work with the community, he said, will continue.

"I want to say thank you to the police and to the community," he said. "My family, my friends, and my neighbors shell out and they show up. And as long as I am here on this Earth, I am here to help you."

Staff writer Rachael Devaney can be reached at rdevaney@capecodonline.com.

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