By George P. Hassett

Anthony Holloway considers himself married to two partners — his wife and the community he patrols. As a newlywed with only two days of marriage behind him, Holloway said he lost his wedding band during a ‚Äúmini-riot‚Äù while on the job in Clearwater, Fla. He spread the word around the neighborhood that he wanted his ring back. Within 24 hours it had been returned and was back on his finger, he said.

“Ever since then I’ve considered myself married to my wife and the community I work in,” he said at the July 10 public question and answer session for the three final candidates for the job of police chief.

Holloway has been a cop since 1986 and is now a captain in the Clearwater Police Department, where he has handled media relations, prepared budgets, determined strategies for major investigations and supervised 200 officers, he said.

He stressed community policing and a tough approach to gangs and violence.      He said he would make an effort to build relationships with leaders in all segments of the city while reaching children through the schools to educate them on drug abuse and introduce them to officers. He also pledged that if he is chosen by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone to be the city‚Äôs top cop he will ride the city streets with every single officer on the force.

“You can’t command from behind a desk,” he said.

Responding to a question about how to combat gang activity, Holloway said, “We have to show them our gang is stronger than their gang.”

Having minorities on a police force is useful in terms of educating other officers in the cultures and social norms of communities they deal with on the job, he said.

“But I believe we should never lower standards just because a candidate is a minority,” he said.

Women also serve a unique purpose on the job, since  ‚Äúpeople don‚Äôt want to fight a female cop,‚Äù he said.

He said he wants to take the training and knowledge he gained in Clearwater to a new city.

‚ÄúSomerville is a great area, it is growing and heading in the right direction and I want to be a part of it,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúAnd police work in Clearwater is the same as police work in Somerville.‚Äù 

Holloway graduated from Eckerd College in 1999 and has a Masters Degree from the University of Phoenix.