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A 'Jaws' actor is named police chief in the town where the iconic movie was filmed

Published May 20, 2022 at 12:00 PM EDT

372132 02: A poster advertising the anniversary collector's edition of the movie "Jaws" is posted on a lifeguard tower July 2, 2000 on Zuma Beach in Malibu, CA. The sign has led to complaints by beach goers with young children, who feel that it is inappropriate for the sign to be on display so close to the water and so near the 4th of July. (Photo by Dan Callister/Newsmakers)

Former Jaws actor Jonathan Searle is set to become the next police chief of Oak Bluffs in Martha's Vineyard — the same town in which the iconic movie was filmed.

The Oak Bluffs select board, a body comprised of the town's chief elected officials, voted earlier this week to offer Searle a position as the next police chief.

The police department posted a message Wednesday on Facebook welcoming Searle to the position.

Decades ago, a young Searle played one of the pranksters with a cardboard fin in Jaws , which prompted panic on the beach, according to The Daily Jaws.

Sgt. Searle comes to the role with years of experience in the Edgartown police department under his belt. Edgartown and Oak Bluffs neighbor each other on Martha's Vineyard.

"It's something I've been working toward my whole career," Searle told the Vineyard Gazette.

Searle did not immediately respond to request for comment from NPR.