A former child actor best known for his role in “Jaws” was voted Monday to become the next police chief of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, where the movie was filmed.
Sergeant Jonathan Searle had served Edgartown for a long time before winning the election in a 3-1 vote, the Vineyard Gazette reported. (RELATED: Spielberg Lets Major Spoiler Slip About ‘Indiana Jones 5’)
‘Jaws’ child star named police chief of town where movie was filmed https://t.co/s3R8zPh9Rv pic.twitter.com/5sKBJgDm9b
— New York Post (@nypost) May 19, 2022
“I’m clearly elated, and I’m humbled and honored to have been offered the position,” Sergeant Searle said, according to the Vineyard Gazette.
As children, Jonathan and his brother Steven starred in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster about a killer shark that kept people out of the water for decades. They were remembered as two pranksters who swam with a cardboard shark fin and created panic on a crowded beach, according to the New York Post.
Despite the success of “Jaws,” Searle gave up his career of acting to follow in his father’s footsteps of becoming a police officer. Jonathan’s father, George Searle, served on the force and eventually became a police chief between 1981 and 1995, according to Marca.
As an officer, Searle helped lead Project Outreach, an initiative that pairs recovery coaches with officers struggling with addictions and helps them get into recovery programs, according to the New York Post.
Searle did investigate an alleged shark sighting in his hometown in 2008, but the sighting was a hoax and the man who reported the sighting was a prankster as well. However, unlike Searle’s character, who was let off with a warning, the man was charged with disorderly conduct, according to American Entertainment.