BELMONT — The Town of Belmont has a new police chief.
Members of Lakes Region police departments, leaders from the Town of Belmont and citizens gathered at the Belmont Mill Wednesday morning to observe and celebrate the swearing-in of Stephen Akerstrom as the town’s next police chief.
Akerstrom, a Belmont native who grew up on Main Street, started his career in Gilmanton in 2001, before coming to Belmont, where he has served since 2002. Most recently, Akerstrom served the town as its police captain. He’s not the first Akerstrom to call Belmont home — his father Albert was the town’s fire chief.
He replaces Chief Mark Lewandoski, a dedicated member of law enforcement who’s served Belmont for nearly 50 years. Starting as a part-time officer in 1977, Lewandoski went full time about a year later, and rose through the ranks all the way to chief in 2013. He’s retiring at the beginning of March, but will remain on the force part-time for the foreseeable future.
“I started in Gilmanton in 2001. In 2002, I came here, and I’ve been here ever since,” Akerstrom said. “I was promoted to corporal then sergeant, lieutenant, captain and now chief.”
Akerstrom said becoming chief in his hometown is an honor.
“Obviously, growing up here in town, it’s where I grew up, so it’s a great place to live and work,” he said. “I want to continue the community relations that we have with the public and do what’s best for the community. That’s what we’re looking for — to build that trust.”
“You will always be part of our Belmont family,” selectboard Chair Ruth Mooney read from the dedication of this year’s town report. Among others, the document is dedicated to Lewandoski and notes his lifetime of dedicated service to their community.
Lewandoski said he’s confident in Akerstrom’s ability to run the department.
“I definitely picked the right guy, no doubt about it,” he said. “He’s going to carry on just fine — good guy.”
“I know him very well, I’ve watched him throughout his career growing up and he’s good to go,” Lewandoski said. “Great temperament, reasonable, his personality is second to none. He’ll be able to communicate with everyone in the community.”
Lewandoski said he’s going to miss the job, which he’s done essentially his entire adult life.
“The job — I’ve done it my whole life since I was 18. But I’m staying on part-time, I’m still going to do some stuff" for Akerstrom, he said. “The community service aspect, or whatever he needs assistance with, I’m going to help him.”
Over nearly 50 years, Lewandoski's had a lot of meaningful moments. None of them compare to the impact he’s been able to have on the lives of others, he said.
“The things that mean the most to me are the people who have come up to me that their lives have changed because of interactions they had with me,” he said. “That’s the biggest reward that you could have.”
“I’ve got to stay in, I can’t just walk out of it — can’t do it,” he said. “It’s a way of life.”
(1) comment
He was always a solid man. Him and his family are very respectful in there operations - the community needs a soldier to handle Marks job
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