‘Jaws’ Child Actor Becomes Police Chief On Martha’s Vineyard Where Film Was Shot

Oct 31, 2022 by apost team

Steven Spielberg’s 1975 thriller “Jaws” is widely credited with changing the cinema system and essentially creating the summer blockbuster movie season. Its jaw-dropping success paved the way for many changes to filmmaking, including simultaneous releases across a large number of theaters and far bigger budgets for advertising and marketing films. The mega-hit was also a game changer for the island it was filmed on – Martha’s Vineyard, the upscale holiday island off the coast of Massachusetts. 

There, the film production went to work creating the fictional town of Amity for the movie. Producers also hired locals to appear as extras or for minor roles in the movie. Among them was Jonathan Searle, whose life has taken an incredibly ironic turn since the film’s release almost 50 years ago.

Searle had been recruited alongside his brother, Stephen, to play key roles in a suspenseful scene early in the film. The scene served to set the tone for the rest of the movie by establishing the atmosphere of terror pervading the town and its residents after a spate of recent shark attacks in waters off its popular beachfront. In the scene, the beach appeared to be crowded as police and lifeguards keep a close eye on the waters. Soon enough, a man in the water spied what appeared to be the fin of a shark. He headed to the shore in a frenzy and the people around him began to do so as well. The lifeguard blew his whistle, sending police on boats to check on the situation. They surrounded the fin, which then turned out to be a buoy made to look like a shark’s fin. Two boys, played by Searle and his brother, then emerged from under the water to the police’s irritation.

Searle’s life has taken quite a turn since then. Though he never pursued a career in acting since his role in “Jaws,” he has gone into another field just as dramatic – the police force. He joined the Edgartown Police Department in 1986, following the footsteps of his father, George, a 30-year veteran of the force who held the top post from 1981 to 1995. 

In a strange twist of fate, Searle would go on to charge a man over playing a shark hoax, much like he had in the movie. In 2008, the Vineyard Gazette reported that a man who claimed to be a fisherman going around telling the public at State Beach there were two great white sharks in the water. According to Searle’s police report on the incident, the man had told people the sharks were “about as long as the boat and weighed between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds.” When Searle clocked in for work later that day, he was surprised to find State Beach had been closed and went to investigate. When questioned, the man told Searle he had seen the sharks while catching lobsters and crabs and that the boat owner had seen him. Upon further checks, there was no boat owner going by the name quoted by the man, and Searle promptly arrested him for disorderly conduct.

This incident and many like them became part and parcel of Searle’s life after his big-screen debut. He eventually rose up the ranks on the back of efforts such as joining Project Outreach, an initiative partnering police officers with recovery coaches to help get locals battling addiction into treatment programs. Now, Searle’s long years of experience have paid off after he was named to the top job. 

apost.com

On May 16, 2022, Searle was named the new police chief of Oak Bluffs, where a majority of “Jaws” was filmed. Up against two others for the job, the town’s select board voted 3-1 to instate Searle to the top post. Searle took over from Eric Blake, who retired from the job. 

“I’m clearly elated and and I’m humbled and honored to have been offered the position,” Searle told the Vineyard Gazette, adding “It’s something I’ve been working toward my whole career.”  

The irony of Searle’s appointment to the job has not been lost on the officer himself, who told the New York Post: “I’m finding the whole thing quite funny myself!”  

After the announcement was made on the police department’s Facebook page, Searle was inundated with well-wishes from the public.

“Welcome chief and stay safe and out of the shark infested waters,” one user wrote.

“I just read that he appeared in the original Jaws as Chief Martin Brody’s (Roy Schrieder) son. The town Jonathan now serves was used as the filming location for Jaws. Congratulations, Jonathan,” another comment read.

Searle was sworn in as police chief on June 15, 2022.

Superfans of the film “Jaws” also took note of Searle’s promotion and were elated. The founder of The Daily Jaws, Ross Williams, took to the website to convey his and the community’s congratulations.

“We are sure we speak for Jaws fans worldwide when we send Jonathan, the soon to be chief of police, our congratulations and wish him all the best in his forthcoming role. Hail to the future chief,” he wrote.

What a long way Jonathan Searle has come! How inspiring did you find the new police chief’s story? Let us know and be sure to pass this along to family and friends.