Blues brothers: These WMass twins answer the call in sibling towns
In the neighboring towns of Longmeadow and East Longmeadow, the only way to tell the difference between patrolmen Michael and Kevin Healey might be their badge numbers.
Kevin wears No. 8; Michael wears No. 6.
Beyond that, the identical twins have the same jobs in side-by-side towns: They are both school resource officers. Kevin keeps watch over students, staff and teachers in Longmeadow, while Michael keeps an eye on East Longmeadow.
"Being identical twins creates a lot of confusion, because the towns are so close to each other," Kevin told The Republican.
Each Officer Healey is stationed in his town's respective high school and responsible for safeguarding the entire school system.
Born and raised in East Longmeadow, they both went to high school in town. Today, they continue living together, have most of the same friends and travel in tandem.
They are 36 years old — Kevin was born first, by 10 minutes.
"I can't even tell you how many times I'm out, and his students will see me and confuse me for him. I've had so many people have full-on conversations with me, thinking I'm my brother, and I just roll with it," said Kevin.
On rare occasions, the brothers, who work the same shift, cross town lines to help each other as part of official emergency responses — like when Longmeadow High School recently locked down because a student was suspected of having a weapon.
Kevin determined there was no danger when he found the student was carrying a pocket knife.
Longmeadow High School Police School Resource Officer Kevin Healey, right, and his identical twin brother, East Longmeadow High School Police School Resource Officer Michael Healey, speak with The Republican on Monday at Longmeadow High School. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Coffee confusion
Michael has found other reasons to cross the border, leaving East Longmeadow to grab coffee in Longmeadow.
"I'll stop at the Starbucks, and there's a group of high school-aged students who will see me, and they'll give me a look and wonder, 'Which one is that?' I just smile and wave," he said.
According to Verywell Health, there are 32 fraternal twins out of every 1,000 births. The incidence of identical twins is even more rare — 3 to 4 out of every 1,000 births. And a fraction of them holds identical jobs.
There are famous cartoons, where the same character improbably pops up in a number of different scenes, confounding his nemesis.
Kevin got a feel for what that's like when he stopped a teenager for speeding through Longmeadow.
"I pulled over a kid from East Longmeadow, and he looked at me so confused (because) my brother had pulled him over (in Longmeadow). This kid must think I'm in two places at once, because he looked super confused," said the patrolman.
If you look closely, Michael's hair is a little longer, and he is a bit taller than his brother. Kevin is stern and serious; Michael cracks an easy smile. But not much else sets them apart.
They both like Drake, a Canadian rapper, and they root for the New England Patriots. They made a joint trip to see Tom Brady quarterback the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV.
Twin trouble
As sworn officers of the law, the brothers take their jobs seriously and don't toy with being twins. But they confess to being mischievous when they were younger.
"We never got into trouble, but in high school, we definitely took advantage of it," said Michael. "We switched classes and a couple times, the teacher had no idea. She just went through the whole class."
The Healeys say they enjoy working with students, keeping them safe and reaching out when one of their charges might be headed for trouble.
As much as the brothers are look-alikes, Kevin also sees himself in the students.
"That's pretty helpful, because so many students ask for advice about anything and everything — sports, relationships, college, jobs. My brother and I are good at reading people. I can tell when someone is about to do something (wrong), because that's probably how I would have acted when I was younger," he said.
While people in both towns seem to enjoy having carbon copy cops, it's not all fun or confusion.
"We benefit from the relationship they have. We've learned from their approach to school safety and security. It's a great way to share best practices," said Longmeadow Superintendent Marty O'Shea.
Longmeadow High School Police School Resource Officer Kevin Healey, right, and his identical twin brother, East Longmeadow High School Police School Resource Officer Michael Healey, speak with The Republican on Monday at Longmeadow High School. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
In East Longmeadow, High School Principal Frank Paige said the brothers collaborate to keep both towns safe.
"They definitely (collaborate on) some of their work and make sure whatever ideas or new practices one school might be implementing is shared with the other. We've always had that natural rivalry but also a connection between the two communities. This just adds to it," said Paige.
The brothers are siblings in sync, even using the same word to indicate brotherly love.
"I'm blessed to have a built-in best friend. I'm very fortunate to have Kevin as my brother. You see a lot of siblings who don't get along. Kevin and I are very close. We're bonded," said Michael.
"I'm blessed to have a twin brother, a sibling I'm super close with. I know how lucky I am," added Kevin.
While it is easy to mistake one twin for the other, even the brothers struggle with it sometimes, too. When Kevin tried connecting Michael with The Republican, he sent the paper his own phone number by mistake.
It's a faux pas that's easy to make, because the mobile numbers are nearly identical — off by only a digit.
Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
