NEW BEDFORD - After a career of serving the Whaling City as a police officer since 1987, Charlie Perry is calling it “quits”.

Longtime police officer and former mayoral candidate Charlie Perry announced his retirement from the New Bedford Police Department this afternoon on social media.

In a post to his Facebook page on Monday afternoon, Perry posted a picture of himself in uniform with the following caption:

“Thank you New Bedford. It's been a fortunate career for me. Since 1987, I served with the mindset to do the right thing everyday. As of January, 2018 I will retire from NBPD. God Bless you all,”

WBSM News spoke on the phone with Charlie Perry following his move to go public with his decision. Perry says that he was planning to retire in 2018 anyways and says, “I'm just ready to do something else.”

“I just loved working for the city, it was a great experience. Most of the friends and contacts I have all came through the New Bedford Police Department so it's a rewarding experience and I have no regrets,” Perry said.

Perry denies that the decision has anything to do with how the mayor election turned out or his history with Police Chief Joseph Cordeiro, which saw a complaint sent by Perry to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) accusing the Chief of racist actions and discrimination.

“No, it was just time for a change. It's just time for me to go,” Perry said. “It's a different police force now and its time for a change from guys who've been on for a long time like me, and the police work is just not the same.”

Shortly after the final mayor election in November, Perry stated that he still had an interest running for political office on either the state or local level. Though he didn't rule out another run for office, he says before he gets tied down chasing a political career he wants to look forward to enjoying retirement, saying, “It's going to be nice, and I'm going to make it worthwhile.”

On the release of the findings from MCAD's investigation into his complaint about Police Chief Joseph Cordeiro, Perry says he believes the issues he says are within the department will diminish over time.

“The issues within the New Bedford Police Department will get curbed. We have a strong union and they're not going to tolerate stuff that gets out of hand,” explained Perry. “If there's a problem the union will straighten it out, no matter who or what it's coming from.”

 

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