Hopkinton native Kevin Sager finalized his homecoming when he was approved Friday afternoon by the Select Board to become the town’s newest police officer.

Sager, who grew up on Blackthorne Circle (off Granite Street), said that as a child he looked up to the police in town.

“I remember as a kid seeing police officers driving around my neighborhood, at the [Boston] Marathon, Center School and Elmwood when they had the Kenyan runners come, I always went up and talked to [the police],” he said. “So it’s very exciting.”

Sager, a graduate of St. Joseph’s College in Standish, Maine, has spent the past 13 years on the force in South Portland, Maine, most recently as a sergeant.

“He has many professional accomplishments on his resume, including being an instructor at the Maine Police Academy,” Hopkinton Police Chief Joseph Bennett said in his introduction. “But today I want to share with you what really impressed me and others about Kevin is not only his accomplishments and his resume, his character, his demeanor, and the fact that I believe he is going to be an amazing fit in our community — he vetted us. He researched our department. He looked on our social media posts. He looked on our website. He researched so much about the department. He was so well-prepared for the interview. He even reached out before he considered [applying], he reached out to me and asked to do a ride-along. He spent time with the officers.

“He chose us to apply. And I think that’s certainly a compliment to our department, to have a high-caliber applicant do all that to come here. And it shows his due diligence and preparation. He performed very well in his interviews, he performed very well in his other department. He’s an outstanding candidate for many reasons, but the research he did and the fact that he vetted us really stood out to me.”

Sager fielded questions from Select Board members before being unanimously approved. Amy Ritterbusch asked for his philosophy on deescalating physical and verbal behaviors, and Sager said he has had crisis intervention training.

“The biggest part is just to remain calm with people, because they may be having the worst day of their lives, and anything you say or do can either make it better for them or worse,” he said, also highlighting the importance of taking things slow.

The meeting was the first for Muriel Kramer in her second stint on the board. Kramer, who was elected at the May 22 Town Election, replaces Brian Herr, who was not a candidate for reelection.