By Brian Denitzio
News Editor

It was the morning of Marathon Monday, and Boston Police officers had just finished doing roll call in Cleveland Circle. Superintendent Robert Dunford approached Capt. John Greland, the new commander of Dorchester's District C-11 and offered him one piece of advice.

"He said 'It's your station, you run it,'" Greland recalls.

In an interview Monday morning in his office at Area C-11's Gibson Street headquarters Greland discussed how he plans to run the district, and outlined a leadership style that the community will likely find a marked departure from that of his predecessor, Capt. Frank Armstrong.

The Dorchester district is familiar territory for Greland. A native of Charlestown, Greland was assigned to C-11 as a patrolman for his first seven years with the department. Since then he's moved around the city, spending time in South Boston and Roxbury, as well as a stint at the academy. Most recently, he was assigned to district E-18 in Hyde Park, where he worked under the command of Captain Michael Broderick.

Each district is different, Greland said, and presents officers with a different set of challenges. In Hyde Park, he said, the district itself was larger geographically than C-11, but he had fewer resources at his disposal than he does now.

"I have more people here, but I also have more issues," said Greland.

One definite difference between C-11 and E-18 is the amount of violent crime. "You don't have the shootings [in Hyde Park] that you have here," said Greland.

Greland, who was promoted to captain in September 2005, said that he learned a great deal during his time working at E-18 that he said he intends to put to use in C-11.

Broderick's leadership style, Greland said, adhered to the chain of command and avoided micro-managing.

"If you're the lieutenant on that shift, you run that shift," said Greland.

An extension of that policy is perhaps the biggest departure from the way his predecessor ran the district. The district's Community Service Officers will be charged with handling issues brought by the community, Greland told the Reporter.

From the time that he took over command of the district in February 2005, until his departure two weeks ago, Armstrong was the public face of C-11. He regularly appeared at civic association and crime watch meetings throughout the district, and gave out his personal cell phone number to anyone who asked.

Greland intends to make the rounds to community meetings, but has no plans to give out his cell phone number.

"I have a C.S.O. office&emdash;I intend to use them," said Greland. He'll absolutely be aware of any issues that arise, he added, but the C.S.O. officers will take the lead role in hearing community concerns.

He said that he'll also make the rounds at some of the more than 50 community meetings happening in Dorchester each month. He got his first taste at last Thursday's meeting of the Tuttle-Hartland Neighborhood Watch, accompanying Sgt. John Daly to the meeting at Tuttle House. Greland introduced himself and offered to take questions from the group. Marlea Mesh, who heads up the crime watch said that she was encouraged by her first meeting with the new district commander.

"He seems like a nice enough guy," said Mesh. "He said he worked in C-11 from 1985-1992 when crimes were worse than they are now, and that made me feel better."

Mesh mentioned that she told Greland that he was walking into a hot seat, following behind Capt. Armstrong, who enjoyed a wealth of support in the community. His sudden transfer on April 15 shocked and angered many in the community, feelings fueled by reports that Armstrong's transfer was a result of a feud with Dunford. Greland alluded to rumors that he was given the command in C-11 to do Dunford's bidding.

"Is Superintendent Dunford telling me what to do? No," said Greland.