Brimfield police chief donates book proceeds to children’s programs
Brimfield’s famous police chief will release his first published book Sept. 21, and is donating proceeds to charities that fund programs for children.
Brimfield Police Chief David Oliver’s fame can be attributed to the controversial yet comedic posts he regularly contributes to the Brimfield Police Department’s Facebook page. The page has more than 83,000 likes from people all over the world.
Oliver created the department’s Facebook page three years ago, which he uses to voice his opinions about criminals, or “mopes” as he calls them, share his humor with the citizens of Brimfield and provide information about local events.
Oliver’s humor caught the attention of Gray & Company, a Cleveland-based book publisher specializing in books about Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. David Gray, president of Gray & Company, said a former colleague acquainted him with the Facebook page and was he was soon captivated.
While Gray said he enjoys reading the shorter, time-sensitive Facebook posts, it was the chief’s essay-style posts on serious issues that really captured his attention.
“Those are more timeless,” Gray said. “Kind of like a newspaper columnist, he writes opinion pieces that are really very thoughtful. That kind of long-form content makes for good reading in a book.”
After multiple meetings with the publishers, a collaboration to turn the Facebook page into a book began.
The book, “No Mopes Allowed,” is a “greatest hits” collection of essays, action reports, letters to criminals, photos of the K-9 officers and Oliver’s top 40 favorite quotes of the day, along with a few new additions, Oliver said.
“Most of the stories are humorous,” Oliver said. “There’s some stories in there that if you’ve been a victim of crime might hit home. There’s just a lot of opinion and a lot of what goes on here within the police department. So I think it’s a nice mix, and I think it will be a fun read.”
The 250-page paperback book is priced at $14.95 and will debut at Brimfield’s annual Brimfest celebration. Oliver will be present to sign autographs and answer questions.
The book is also available for purchase online through the publisher’s website, and available in major area bookstores by mid-October. Oliver said there are approximately 2,000 copies pre-ordered through the website.
E-book editions will be available Sept. 24.
All proceeds from the book are being donated to the Chief Oliver Foundation, a non-profit organization that funds charitable programs, such as Shop-with-a-Cop, and assists juvenile survivors of sexual assault.
Oliver said it has been a long-time aspiration for him and his wife, Lisa, to create a foundation to help fund these causes, and the book deal created the perfect opportunity. Oliver said his own personal experiences are what made some of these programs, such as Shop-with-a-Cop, very special to him.
“I grew up very poor and that program is very personal,” Oliver said, “Because I was the kid who didn’t go to school in new clothes and didn’t have a lot of clothes to be honest with you. So that’s always been very personal.”
The foundation is dedicated to helping the child survivors of sexual assault overcome their traumatic experiences and begin healing through the arts, music, dance or other recreational activities they may have an interest in, said Lisa Oliver, co-founder of The Chief Oliver Foundation. The foundation will fund the tuition of the children’s preferred activities.
Oliver said he and his officers get a lot more attention now because of the Facebook page and enjoy the praised comments, but he said he laughs at the “fame” and popularity.
“I come in to work everyday at the same time, and I come in and we just work,” Oliver said. “I’m just working. There’s just more people watching now.”
Contact Amanda Crumm at [email protected].