Bruce Benson is taking his experience, unblemished record and physical condition overseas to teach police in war-torn Iraq.
LIVERMORE FALLS – After 32 years as a police officer, you’d think Bruce Benson would be counting the days to retirement. Instead, he’s heading to Iraq.
The 55-year-old Livermore Falls administrative sergeant resigned his job, sold his Fayette home and stored his belongings.
He’s given away his dog, Nuffy, to a good family. That was hard, he said; the two had been together for 12 years.
He’s going to Iraq to help train and organize an Iraqi police force.
Saturday was Benson’s last shift with the Livermore Falls force. On Tuesday he leaves for 18 days of training in Texas and Virginia.
After he completes training, he’ll be working for the International Police Service in Iraq. The force will be uniformed and fully armed. He doesn’t expect to patrol the country unless the United Nations steps in.
He met the requirements of law enforcement experience: an unblemished record and excellent physical condition, he said.
And no, this is no mid-life crisis, Benson said.
“This seems like a great opportunity,” he said. “To me it’s an exciting challenge … It’s hard to describe. I feel I want to make some kind of contribution to this country.”
Benson came to Livermore Falls in 1980 from Fairfield, Conn., where he’d worked several years for the Fairfield Police Department, serving a community of about 65,000 people.
In the last couple of years, he said he’s been thinking about trying something else.
“I don’t want to wind down as I get old,” he said. “I just want to stay active.”
So he opted for the Iraqi mission.
“I think if they could get a nice, democratic police force over there, it’s going to help them re-establish themselves and grow as a nation,” Benson said.
He is not worried about the risk.
Benson said he’d be interviewed once he arrives at training for whatever is best suited to him.
He said he’s not good in the classroom, but if they’re going to start a canine unit, he’d be interested.
“I’d be good at that,” he said. “I’ve trained police dogs before.”
Though he’s not sure where he’ll be stationed, he said, he thinks it might be Baghdad. There is a police academy in Baghdad.
He expects Iraqi police to be armed with a side arm, a baton and probably chemical mace to defend themselves.
Benson said he’d be teaching Iraqis that you can prevent crime in a nonviolent manner. There is no need for torture and no need for violence, he said, if you treat people with respect and dignity.
“It works surprisingly well,” he said.
He has signed on for a one-year contract renewable by mutual agreement.
Eventually Benson said he’d come back to Maine, probably along the coast somewhere, and go south during the winter.
“I’m going to miss the people, here but I need to move on,” he said. “I need to get out of this cold weather.”
In January, Iraq’s average temperature was 49 degrees but it gets up to 130 degrees at times.
He’ll adjust. He’s tired of Maine’s winters.
Benson is excited about the challenge.
“I think I can make a difference in their lives and the people in their community,” Benson said. “It’s going to be a long hard struggle. It’s not going to be easy, but we have to do it. We’re in this, we have to finish the job and do it right.”
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