Retired Police Chief: ‘I Wasn’t Born In Bristol Borough, But I Consider Myself A Bristolian’

Last week, one of Bristol Borough’s longest serving police officials retired after nearly 37 years of service.

Chief Arnold Porter served his last day on Friday, February 19 with more than 36 years of service under his duty belt. In June, Porter would have marked his 37th year working in the borough.

When he first came to the borough in 1979, Porter, a Lower Makefield resident, started as a patrolman. He was promoted to a sergeant after eight years. Since being appointed in 2001, he has been Bristol’s top cop.

“It was a decision that I thought about for a long time,” Porter said of retirement. “Why would you want to leave something you still enjoy.”

Porter, who earned $107,000 last year, made it clear that the decision to retire was not an easy one. He mentioned that he wants to spend time with family and friends in his retirement years.

On his first few days of retirement, Porter, took a trip to see family. On his first official day out of the office, he slept in and went golfing. He commented that he has no regrets on his first few days of retirement.

Through Porter’s years on the force, he mentioned that the department has taken tremendous steps towards bettering the quality of life in the borough, adding cleaning up trouble spots such as the train station parking lot.

Being available for citizens looking to talk to him was one his biggest priorities.

“I like to think that when they mention my name, they think of someone who tried to be fair and keep the department moving forward,” Porter said.

Although he is moving away from work, that doesn’t mean that Porter is going to slow down. He plans on doing stateside traveling to visit places he has always wanted to see. And he’ll also work to improve his golf game. Porter also mentioned that he is a private pilot and rides a motorcycle, so one can only imagine that he will be putting those skills to use.

As well as working to better the town over his tenure, Porter was, and will continue to be, a member on committees for certain events throughout the borough.

“[I] always felt privilege to be on a lot of the committees for the major events for the borough,” Porter said.

Just because he won’t be holding an official office in Bristol doesn’t mean that he will not be seen just as frequently as before at community events. Porter said that he “absolutely” plans to attend major borough events, such as the annual doo-wop concert and various ethnic community days.

Porter attended college in Missouri, where he served as an officer for five years before returning home to Pennsylvania to visit family. While in the Keystone state, he saw an application for an opening in the Bristol Borough Police Department. He got the job, moved back to the state, and the rest is history.

A Philadelphia Inquirer article from when Porter was hired to replace then-Chief Frank Peranteau Jr., who is now the borough’s district judge, said the longtime lawman’s parents once operated Max Porter’s Shoe Ranch in the Fairless Hills Shopping Center. Porter is quoted as saying that he knew while working at his parent’s shop that he wasn’t interested in taking over the business and instead wanted to become a police officer.

Porter’s last big case in Bristol was the recent homicide of 20-year-old Robert Colter III along Bath Street. While the shooting has not yet lead to arrests, police have said they are confident it will be solved.

Sgt. Joe Moors, a longtime patrolman, will be temporarily taking the chief’s role until a new leader is hired. Moors told LevittownNow.com earlier this year that he did not apply for the chief job.

Porter’s retirement was preceded that of his longtime colleague Detective Sgt. Randy Morris.

“I wasn’t born in Bristol Borough, but I consider myself a Bristolian,” Porter said.