VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. March 21 2008
- Bill Godfrey's friends think he's crazy. After retiring from a 20-year career with the FBI, he's going full circle, back to his first job as a street cop with the Virginia Beach Police Department. Godfrey, 54, said he has too much energy to sit around, but no desire for a lucrative homeland security gig in Washington. He's taken the career thing far enough. Now, it's time to get back to basics.
He dreams of a beat at the Oceanfront. "If a little girl has a bicycle stolen, and I can find that bike," Godfrey said, "that would make my day." He's six weeks into a 10-week police academy for experienced officers, and friends are shaking their heads, smiling. "None of us took him seriously," said John Bell, a department captain and 1976 academy classmate of Godfrey's. "I said, 'You're going to leave the FBI, a prestigious organization, and come back here and start working nights on the street?' He said, 'Yeah.' " If Godfrey ends up working at the Oceanfront in the city's 2nd Precinct, the circle would indeed be complete. That's where he started in 1976, a 21-year-old from Long Island, N.Y., walking a beat with Kenneth Stolle, a police academy classmate who is now a state senator from Virginia Beach. "Two rookies out there trying to figure out how to be police officers," Stolle laughed. "Every night was an adventure." Especially July 4, 1976. A bicentennial celebration got out of control on Atlantic Avenue, sparking a riot. Godfrey got hit in the chest with a full can of Coke. Stolle was bashed in the leg by a cinder block. Bloody, and in torn uniforms, the pair finished the night in the emergency room. The adrenaline rush of the work had Godfrey hooked. Well-liked, funny and fit, he climbed the ranks of the Beach Police Department: special operations, SWAT team, detective. After eight years, looking for a bigger stage and paycheck, he joined the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. One memorable day, he walked into Norfolk International Airport with $50,000 in a suitcase and bought cocaine. The sting helped break up a large South American drug ring. Another time he helped confiscate 14 boatloads of marijuana from vessels near Craney Island. After three years, he tired of drug cases and wanted to do more than "put powder on the table." The FBI hired Godfrey in 1987, and he was assigned over the years to Oklahoma City; Newark and Atlantic City, N.J.; and Norfolk, and worked high-profile events such as the riots that shook Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdicts, the first World Trade Center bombing, the savings and loan crisis, the Sept. 11 attacks and anthrax cases that followed shortly after. As he approached 20 years and became eligible for retirement, he thought about what to do next. He'd always had fond memories of street-level police work. He didn't need money. Selling homes in favorable real estate markets in New Jersey allowed him in 2003 to buy a four-story house one block off the ocean in Croatan.
His wife, Amy, and three kids support his decision. "They've never seen me do anything else," he said. "Now, I'll just put on a uniform instead of a suit." His body is still strong from a disciplined diet and workout routine: five 30-minute runs a week and 120 sit-ups and weight lifting three times a week.
In nice weather, he rides a six-speed cruiser on the Boardwalk. He religiously eats five pieces of fruit a day (lots of bananas). When traveling, he takes along his own salad fixings. "People have said I'm crazy. They say, 'Why don't you just retire, period?' I said, 'I'm not ready to retire, period.' I still enjoy catching the bad guy. At some point, I may get this out of my system, but it's not out of my system after 32 years." He hopes he can teach young police officers a few things. "They took a chance on me 30 years ago, and maybe now I can help them," he said. "Bill has a very calming leadership style," said Brian Hanlin, an FBI agent who was Godfrey's boss in Norfolk. "He's someone who's not going to get flustered when things go haywire, someone who can bring order to the chaos." Whatever happens, Godfrey plans to have fun. "Maybe it's a little bit of reliving my youth," he said. "I don't know." A few former cops understand him. "I've had some people come up to me and say, 'You know, that would be a blast. The most fun I ever had was when I was on the police force.' "
He dreams of a beat at the Oceanfront. "If a little girl has a bicycle stolen, and I can find that bike," Godfrey said, "that would make my day." He's six weeks into a 10-week police academy for experienced officers, and friends are shaking their heads, smiling. "None of us took him seriously," said John Bell, a department captain and 1976 academy classmate of Godfrey's. "I said, 'You're going to leave the FBI, a prestigious organization, and come back here and start working nights on the street?' He said, 'Yeah.' " If Godfrey ends up working at the Oceanfront in the city's 2nd Precinct, the circle would indeed be complete. That's where he started in 1976, a 21-year-old from Long Island, N.Y., walking a beat with Kenneth Stolle, a police academy classmate who is now a state senator from Virginia Beach. "Two rookies out there trying to figure out how to be police officers," Stolle laughed. "Every night was an adventure." Especially July 4, 1976. A bicentennial celebration got out of control on Atlantic Avenue, sparking a riot. Godfrey got hit in the chest with a full can of Coke. Stolle was bashed in the leg by a cinder block. Bloody, and in torn uniforms, the pair finished the night in the emergency room. The adrenaline rush of the work had Godfrey hooked. Well-liked, funny and fit, he climbed the ranks of the Beach Police Department: special operations, SWAT team, detective. After eight years, looking for a bigger stage and paycheck, he joined the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. One memorable day, he walked into Norfolk International Airport with $50,000 in a suitcase and bought cocaine. The sting helped break up a large South American drug ring. Another time he helped confiscate 14 boatloads of marijuana from vessels near Craney Island. After three years, he tired of drug cases and wanted to do more than "put powder on the table." The FBI hired Godfrey in 1987, and he was assigned over the years to Oklahoma City; Newark and Atlantic City, N.J.; and Norfolk, and worked high-profile events such as the riots that shook Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdicts, the first World Trade Center bombing, the savings and loan crisis, the Sept. 11 attacks and anthrax cases that followed shortly after. As he approached 20 years and became eligible for retirement, he thought about what to do next. He'd always had fond memories of street-level police work. He didn't need money. Selling homes in favorable real estate markets in New Jersey allowed him in 2003 to buy a four-story house one block off the ocean in Croatan.
His wife, Amy, and three kids support his decision. "They've never seen me do anything else," he said. "Now, I'll just put on a uniform instead of a suit." His body is still strong from a disciplined diet and workout routine: five 30-minute runs a week and 120 sit-ups and weight lifting three times a week.
In nice weather, he rides a six-speed cruiser on the Boardwalk. He religiously eats five pieces of fruit a day (lots of bananas). When traveling, he takes along his own salad fixings. "People have said I'm crazy. They say, 'Why don't you just retire, period?' I said, 'I'm not ready to retire, period.' I still enjoy catching the bad guy. At some point, I may get this out of my system, but it's not out of my system after 32 years." He hopes he can teach young police officers a few things. "They took a chance on me 30 years ago, and maybe now I can help them," he said. "Bill has a very calming leadership style," said Brian Hanlin, an FBI agent who was Godfrey's boss in Norfolk. "He's someone who's not going to get flustered when things go haywire, someone who can bring order to the chaos." Whatever happens, Godfrey plans to have fun. "Maybe it's a little bit of reliving my youth," he said. "I don't know." A few former cops understand him. "I've had some people come up to me and say, 'You know, that would be a blast. The most fun I ever had was when I was on the police force.' "
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