Peter Newsham – Chief of Police Metropolitan Police Department

Our Town with host Andy Ockershausen - Homegrown History

Chief Peter Newsham, Chief of Police Metropolitan Police Department when asked about his predecessor former Chief of Police Cathy Lanier ~ ". . .whenever one of our officers comes up and they tell me a story similar to some of the things that Chief Lanier had to go through when she was an officer, I immediately think of Chief Lanier. You know what I mean? I take it very, very seriously. Nobody should have to go through some of the things that she had to go through in her career." Andy Ockershausen: This is Our Town. We are so delighted and we think it's an honor to welcome the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, Peter Newsham. Chief welcome to Our Town. Chief Peter Newsham: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Andy Ockershausen: You know you have such a storied career. You haven't been in Washington that long but you love Our Town obviously. You could have gone many places but you're from the Massachusetts area. On Growing Up in Massachusetts - Once a Red Sox and Patriots Fan, always a . . . Chief Peter Newsham: I am. I grew up in Massachusetts. Both my parents actually grew up I Providence Rhode Island. They moved out to Massachusetts to raise a family. Andy Ockershausen: Smart. Chief Peter Newsham: There's eight of us. My mom actually for each of us she went back to her doctor in Providence where we were born. I was born in Providence Rhode Island but grew up in Massachusetts. Andy Ockershausen: We love Providence. We love Massachusetts. Janice was born in Newport. But she has relatives ... we visited them up there last year. Providence has exploded to me. I haven't been there in years. But I love New England and then getting to go to college must have been great thing for you. Chief Peter Newsham: Oh it was. My mom always wanted me to go to law school so I had to go to college first to accomplish that task. It took me a little longer than most to kind of, I guess, get through my education because I got my law degree while I was here on the police department. Andy Ockershausen: In Worcester. . .There was a small town you grew up in right? Outside of ... Chief Peter Newsham: I grew up in Weymouth Massachusetts ... Andy Ockershausen: Weymouth, yeah. Chief Peter Newsham: ... which is south of Boston about 15-20 minutes south of Boston. Then in high school, my father who actually worked for the power company got a job in Westborough Massachusetts and we ended moving out to Shrewsbury, which borders Worcester Massachusetts. Andy Ockershausen: I know Worcester very well. That's beautiful country. We have friends in a place you may not have heard of before. It's not Newport Beach, its Newport Harbor or something like that, that we visit. We love New England. Janice Iacona Ockershausen: Westport. It's in Adams. Chief Peter Newsham: Oh nice. Andy Ockershausen: Adams Mass right? It's right on the border. Janice Iacona Ockershausen: Right on the border. Chief Peter Newsham: One of the difficult things about being a transplant from Massachusetts and you can probably relate to this is that we stay kind of Red Sox and Patriots fans. A lot of Redskins fans aren't real crazy about that. I adopted the Redskins as my National League ... Andy Ockershausen: You have to when you're here obviously that's true. The people that preceded you all were Redskin fans. We know that. I know that you came up with Chief Ramsey. Chief Ramsey, Assistant Chief of Police Terry Gainer, WMAL and Washington Redskins Chief Peter Newsham: I did. Andy Ockershausen: Chuck Ramsey, a great friend of WMAL. Chief Peter Newsham: Truth be told though Andy, I work very closely with Chuck Ramsey. He was a die hard Cubs and ... Andy Ockershausen: Chicago. Chief Peter Newsham: ... Bears fan yeah. Andy Ockershausen: He bled Illinois I know that. Chief Peter Newsham: He did. Andy Ockershausen: So did his partner he brought with him. What was ... Terry Gaynor. Chief Peter Newsham: Terry Gainer.