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"Every time I got in trouble, he was the one who happened to be there." Chief
Michael Binkowski, on what moved him into law enforcement.
The officer he spoke about served in Woodbury, NJ, where Mike grew up. He died three years
ago. Emotion was evident as Mike spoke of the letter he'd written to the Woodbury editor,
explaining what that officer meant to him.
"My aim in life is to change one person, the way he changed me. I enjoy helping people."
The peak of Chief Binkowski's career was being selected to attend FBI National Academy in
Quantico, Virginia. Only 1/2 of 1% of officers are selected. He has an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice.
A self-described "South Jersey boy", Mike served four years as MP at Parris Island,
then twenty-six years with Beaufort Police Department. He began as patrol officer, was promoted to Sgt.,
Operations Supervisor, then to Lieutenant filling a newly formed Training Officer position, which he held
until retirement in 2004. A newspaper ad drew him to Fripp Island. He was hired as Operations and Training
Officer last July.
Chief Binkowski was part of the team that developed the Community Policing program in
Beaufort--a relationship way of policing. He would like to speak to organizations and clubs, and wants to
establish personal contact on the island. "If anybody has a question, if I don't know the answer, I will
find the answer."
Mike and Michele, married 23 years, have five children and eleven grandchildren between them.
They met at a traffic accident in Beaufort. He was a police officer, she was a paramedic. Knowing firsthand
the problems inherent in marriages due to job pressures in these fields, and so they could come to a better
understanding of each other's jobs, she cross trained as a police officer, he as a paramedic.
Mike is part of the 11th SC Volunteer Infantry Unit of Beaufort, a Civil War Reenactment
group. When they first married, Michele suggested he learn cross-stitching as a means to relieve stress and,
to his surprise, he liked it. He now travels with his briefcase of patterns and threads, cross stitching old
Beaufort homes, Native American types, and presently the pattern "Gettysburg" depicting Civil War
soldiers.
He likes the new color of the cars, and notes that other changes are in progress. Officers will
soon be wearing khaki trousers, green golf-type shirts and brown leather belts, a softer image more in line
with the Fripp community. "Fripp Island is a small town with a core of permanent residents. I will speak
to anyone, to any club or group, at any time." The Chief comes across as open, caring, and easy mannered.
So, who is Mike Binkowski? "I am a compilation of people I've met who have affected me, one way or the
other. All of us, all individuals, are compilations of those who have affected us."
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