BARNSTABLE—Jennifer Ellis worked as an attorney long enough to realize it was time to return to her job in uniform.
"I'm very much a people person and I was really missing that," said Ellis, the Barnstable Police Department's newest deputy chief.
Ellis and Jean Challies are the department's only deputy chiefs—and both are women, which Ellis said "speaks to the inclusivity of the Barnstable Police Department."
Deputy Chief Ellis joined the department 24 years ago and has worked as a sergeant and a lieutenant. She holds a master’s in criminal justice administration, and in 2007 was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.
"I believe that my calling is a calling of service," Ellis told Morning Edition host Patrick Flanary.
"You've got to have your finger on the pulse of what's going on in the community to be able to police it. Our department has to be a reflection of the individuals that make up our community."
Ellis talked about the evolution of women in leadership and why the model of community policing is essential in a town of 50,000 residents.