'Jaws' Child Star Now Named Police Chief On Martha's Vineyard

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA — Almost 50 years after he filmed "Jaws," child actor Jonathan Searle has been named the new police chief of Oak Bluffs.

Jonathan Searle was known as the kid in the water who used a cardboard fin to scare beachgoers in Amity, the fictional town Steven Spielberg named in "Jaws" that was really filmed in Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard, in 1975.

On Monday, the Oak Bluffs Select Board voted 3-1 to name that same prankster as be the new chief of police. Select Board member Ryan Ruley, who is an Edgartown police sergeant, recused himself from the process, while selectwoman Gail Barmakian cast the lone opposing vote.

Forty-eight years after filming the summer blockbuster, Searle told the Vineyard Gazette, "It's something I've been working toward my whole career, I'm clearly elated, and I'm humbled and honored to have been offered the position."

In contrast to Chief Brody from "Jaws," Searle is actually from the island, having joined the Edgartown Police Department in 1986.

He's not the first one in his family either — his father, George Searle, also served as a chief in Edgartown from 1981 to 1985.

Searle said he wants to make a difference, as he most recently helped lead Project Outreach, an initiative partnering officers with recovery coaches to help Martha's Vineyard residents battling addiction into treatment programs.