Maine State Police
Legendary Troopers
The Legendary Trooper Award is the highest award that any Maine State Trooper can receive.
It is awarded in recognition for years of career meritorious service to those Troopers who uphold the highest standards for the Maine State Police. The Maine State Police, in recognition of many years of service, on occasion now awards the Legendary Trooper status to two Troopers in the same year.
2023 - Sgt. Frank "Joe" Poirier
Dates of Service 1986 – 2011 (25 Years)
Bio Coming Soon
– No Legendary Trooper Award given for the year 2022 –
2021 - Det. Joseph "Roy" Gallant
Dates of Service 1975 – 1995 (20 Years)
CAREER: Roy served in the Maine State Police for 20 years and was a Forensic Firearms Detective. He was President of his State Police graduating class and then later in his career was President of the Maine State Troopers Association. He was voted the Legendary Trooper of the Year in 2022. Roy was also the recipient of the Colonel’s Award, granted by the Game Warden Service in recognition of his expertise in ballistics.
2020 - Sgt. Lloyd Williams
Dates of Service 1966 – 1987 (21 Years)
CAREER: Lloyd Williams began working in dispatch before starting his State Police career in 1966. Williams was promoted to Sgt. and worked as a patrol supervisor at the Orono barracks. His interest in dogs would become a big part of his State Police legacy. Sgt. Williams made many trips to headquarters to speak with and provide a demonstration to Colonel Weeks and the Command Staff about the benefit of starting a K-9 program. In 1980 because of Williams’s vision, the decision was made for the Maine State Police to provide statewide K-9 coverage. Sgt. Williams was instrumental in building up the K9 Unit in the State Police as well as Municipal and County Agencies. Sgt. Williams would become the lead trainer for eight K-9 patrol schools with K-9 teams from local, county, and State Police attending. When Sgt. Williams retired in 1987 the State Police had 18 K-9 teams throughout the State of Maine.
2019 - Det. Conrad McNaughton
Dates of Service 1973-1993 (20 Years)
CAREER: McNaughton joined the State Police in 1973 as a member of the 30th Training Troop. He served in Troops B and D, as well as with the State Police Intelligence Unit. McNaughton was a cadre for the 34th Training Troop. He was twice nominated for Trooper of the Year (1976 and 1982). He was also a founding member of the State Police Underwater Recovery Team. He participated in many of the major events in our agency’s history including the State Prison lock-down in 1980 and the Seabrook New Hampshire powerplant protests in 1977. Det. McNaughton was widely known for his outstanding work ethic and determination. His son, Adam McNaughton, currently serves as a Troop Investigator in Troop D.
2018 - Tr. Michael Vittum
Dates of Service 1966-1986 (20 Years)
CAREER: Vittum served the State Police from 1966 to 1986 and patrolled in the Millinocket and Bangor areas in his early career.
Vittum later became a member of the former State Police Drug Unit and participated in the seizures of tons of marijuana being smuggled into Maine on small boats and ships along the coast. Vittum was named Trooper of the Year in 1982.
2017 - Det. Sgt. Dale Ames
Dates of Service 1964-1984 (20 Years)
CAREER: Det. Sgt. Dale Ames was named Legendary Trooper for 2016. During his 20-year career in the Maine State Police, he was part of the “Homicide Squad” which investigated nearly every homicide in the State of Maine.
2016 - Lt. Herb Morse
Dates of Service 1961-2003 (42 Years)
CAREER: Named “Legendary Trooper”, the highest honor for a State Police retiree was retired Lt. Herbert Morse of Hermon, who retired in 2003 after serving 42 years with the State Police. Morse was the commanding officer at Troop E in Orono for 27 years. Morse grew up in Bath and joined the State police in 1961.
Major Christopher Grotton who served under Morse for twelve years as a member of Troop E, said, “Lt. Morse had an ability of inspire and mentor that forged his leadership legacy guiding scores of troopers. His sage advice and guidance made a significant impact on my career and many others.”
2015 - Det. Arnold Gahagan
Dates of Service 1966-1994 (28 Years)
CAREER: Gahagan, from Stockholm, served the State Police for 28 years, from 1966 to his retirement in 1994, and he continues to work for the Aroostook County District Attorney’s Office as a victim witness advocate. The Chief of the State Police, Colonel Robert Williams said Gahagan was considered one of the State Police’s expert child abuse investigators and he was involved in every major State Police investigation in Aroostook County from 1978 to his retirement. In 1984, Gahagan was selected as Trooper of the Year.
2014 - Cpl. Harold "Skid" Savage
Dates of Service 1972-2004 (32 Years)
CAREER: Savage served as a state trooper for 32 years, retiring as a corporal. His first patrol was the Rumford-Mexico area, where he served for 17 years. Retired Maine State Police Maj. Charles Love presented the award, recalling that Savage had earned the reputation of being exceptionally friendly, capable and well-respected. Savage was “known as fair, but do not test him,” Love said. Savage didn’t simply go to work in the Rumford-Mexico area, he cared about people and earned the trust of many. “He became a fabric of his community,” Love said. Savage played a role in keeping peace during a tense paper mill labor strike in the 1980s. During the Rumford strike, “Skid Savage was a known and trusted part of the fabric of the area, and could be counted on to provide to the administration a real-life, real-time assessment,” Love said.
2013 - Col. Malcolm "Mac" Dow
Dates of Service 1976-1999 (23 Years)
CAREER: A native of Houlton, ME., Dow began his career with the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Dept. in the 1970s, and joined the Maine State Police in 1976. He was promoted to deputy chief in 1993 and later served as Chief of the Maine State Police for two years. He was also the recipient of the 1980 Trooper of the Year Award.
2012 - Det. Joseph Zamboni
Dates of Service 1982-2004 (22 Years)
CAREER: Formerly from Milo, Zamboni served 22 years with the Maine State Police and retired in 2004. He was named Trooper of the Year in 2001. A year earlier, Zamboni led the Maine State Police investigation into serial killer James Hicks, who killed three women over 19 years. Zamboni’s work on the case resulted in the recovery of the women’s bodies in Etna and Forkstown Plantation, and life sentences for Hicks.
2011 - Det. Normand Bureau
Dates of Service 1959-1979 (20 Years)
CAREER: Served with the Marines in Korea, joined the Maine State Police in 1959. Bureau was especially well-known for his tenacious pursuit of stolen cars. After his retirement, in 1979, he was appointed by then Maine Governor Joseph Brennan to serve as as Sheriff of Androscoggin County. There are three generations of Maine State Troopers in the Bureau family, starting with Normand Bureau.
2010 - Major Charles Love
Dates of Service 1970-2003 (33 Years)
CAREER: Love joined the state police in 1970 in Somerset County, where he quickly earned a reputation as a “hard-working and compassionate” trooper. Love worked his way up the ranks to detective corporal, sergeant, patrol supervisor, supervisor of the state police’s Criminal Investigation Division, captain and then major, in charge of eight field crews and three CID units. His career took him to Aroostook and Washington counties and later to Augusta. Love also played a key role in developing the state police’s crime lab and worked to improve the lives of abused women and children in a variety of statewide, regional and national capacities.
2009 - Capt. Hollis Dixon
Dates of Service 1958-1983 (25 Years)
CAREER: 1954 Attended School of Fine & Applied Arts in Portland under scholarship for 3 years. Joined the Maine State Police in 1958. After completing the Academy, his first assignment was Troop A barracks in Kittery. In 1970, suffered severe injury and sustained broken bones to wrist, knee and ribs when a tractor-trailer hit his cruiser in the fog during a MV stop. After retiring from the MSP, Dixon served from 1983 to 1999 as Chief of Police Scarborough, ME.
2008 - Lt. Larry Gross
Dates of Service 1968-1992 (24 Years)
CAREER: Larry graduated from Ellsworth High School in 1965 and then from the Maine State Police Academy in 1968. He was a member of the Maine State Police for 24 years. He retired in 1992 as Lieutenant in charge of the Internal Affairs Division after spending the earlier part of his career in the Criminal Investigation Division. Most recently he served as the Executive Director of both the Maine State Troopers Association (MSTA) and Maine Association of Police (MAP) and as a consultant for the Maine State Law Enforcement Association (MSLEA).
2007 - Capt. Reynold LaMontagne
Dates of Service 1960-1990 (30 Years)
CAREER: 1960-Joined MSP as member of 20th Training Troop and assigned to Troop A, where he served for 11 years. 1971 promoted to Sergeant in the Traffic Division and later to Troop C in Skowhegan. 1975 promoted to Lieutenant in the Criminal Division (CID 3 & CID 1)1979 promoted to Captain of the entire Criminal Division and served there until his retirement in early 1990. Investigated several homicides, helped coordinate the Moody Mountain Manhunt in 1981 and the lockdown of the Maine State Prison in 1980.
2006 - Sgt. Harry Bailey
Dates of Service 1966-1986 (20 Years)
CAREER: 1959 US Air Force. 1966-MSP, Troop D, Thomaston. Harry was the supervisor of a multi-jurisdictional DEA task force that investigated criminal organizations involved in smuggling multi-ton marijuana shipments along Maine’s coast. Harry later served six years as a Maine State Representative.
2005 - Lt. Ralph Pinkham
Dates of Service 1964-1988 (24 Years)
CAREER: Pinkham earned Associates of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Maine and Associates of Science in Business Administration from Husson College. He is also a graduate of Northwestern University Police Supervision School and career training at Universities of Delaware and Louisville. Joined MSP in 1964 and initally patrolled Portland area of turnpike (Troop G). In 1966 he transferred to Troop E (Orono). He was promoted to corporal in 1973, in 1974 assigned as a detective with criminal division and promoted to sergeant in 1976. In 1986, he was promoted to Lieutenant and named commanding officer of the MSP Northern Criminal Division.
2004 - Capt. William Hancock, Jr.
Dates of Service 1948-1970 (22 Years)
CAREER: A tail gunner on a B-26 bomber with the Army Air Corps, Hancock was shot down over Italy in 1943, was captured and then escaped from prison camps three times. Caring for a wounded comrade, he finally found refuge with the Italian Resistance. He joined the Maine State Police in 1948 and was promoted through the ranks to Captain. After retiring from the Maine State Police, Hancock later served as Chief of the Ogunquit, ME. police department. He also owned and operated the Ogunquit Lobster Pound with his wife, from 1967 to 1984. His father, William Hancock Sr. also served with the Maine State Police.
2003 - Tr. Fred Ladd
Dates of Service 1948-1969 (21 Years)
CAREER: 1943 Army Air Corp.
1948-1969 Maine State Police-Fred Ladd was one of the original detectives when the Maine State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation was formed in 1955.
2002 - Capt. Guy Savage
Dates of Service 1947-1968 (21 Years)
CAREER: 1945 graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in New London, CT and was commissioned an Ensign US Navy Reserves. 1947 Maine State Police Troop B, Scarborough. 1950 Troop E, Western Penobscot. 1953 promoted to Sergeant, to Troop A in Wells. 1959 cited for bravery for saving the life of a wounded trooper in Limerick, ME. 1960 promoted to Lieutenant, assigned command of Troop B in West Scarborough. 1966, promoted to Captain, assigned as Director of the MSP Finance and Property Division.
2002 - Capt. Millard Nickerson (Posthumous)
Dates of Service 1953-1973 (20 Years)
CAREER: WWII, US Navy Air Service, Pacific Patrol Bombing Squadron, 22nd Fleet, member of Brunswick ME Police Dept. Joined MSP in 1953. In 1955, one of the original 6 state troopers to become plainclothes detectives, later known as Bureau of Criminal Investigation, graduated from FBI National Academy and Federal Bureau of Narcotics Division, member of NESPAC. At retirement, Nickerson was Director of BCI. Arrested Ferdinand Waldo Demara, Jr., the Great Imposter in 1957.
2001 - Col. Allan Weeks
Dates of Service 1950-1987 (37 Years)
CAREER: U.S. Navy Veteran, WWII, he served most of his state police career in Troop D in Thomaston, as a trooper, sergeant and lieutenant. Weeks served as deputy chief under Col. Donald Nichols from 1974 to 1976. From 1976 to 1979, he served in the dual role as commissioner of public safety. He served as colonel for 11 years, being appointed in 1976 by Gov. James Longley and continuing in that position during the administration of Gov. Joseph Brennan. Among the many improvements he established during his years as colonel was the state police tactical team, canine program, hostage negotiator team, the internal affairs unit and the crime laboratory.
2001 - Lt. Foster King (Posthumous)
Dates of Service 1925-1948 (23 Years)
Legendary Trooper was the late Lt. Foster King, formerly of Rangeley, who served the state police from 1925 to 1948. King died in 1990 at the age of 86 and was the last surviving member of the first troopers hired in 1925 when the state police was organized.
2000 - Det. George Massie
Dates of Service 1955-1977 (22 Years)
CAREER: Former US Marine, Korea and WWII, Purple Heart, 3 battle stars
1955-1966 Maine Trooper in Kittery, Freeport & Camden
1967-1977 Maine State Police Detective, Homicide Division
1980-84 Sheriff of Knox County
1999 - Det. Otis LaBree
Dates of Service 1942-1962 (20 Years)
CAREER: Bilingual, French & English. A colorful and sometimes controversial character with red hair, he was a foot patrol officer in Old Town, ME, before he joined the MSP in 1942, where he patrolled Northern Aroostook County on a motorcycle. He became the first Detective in the Maine State Police, at one time arrested a priest in the St. Johns Valley and solved 40 murders, the most famous being the murders of Cyrus Everett and Donna Mauch. Labree was a renowned Handwriting, Finger Print, Firearms and Ballistic expert. LaBree was interviewed by Charles Kuralt for the On the Road TV series and a People Magazine article was written about the Everett-Mauch murders. After retiring from the Maine State Police, he became the Chief of Police in Old Town, ME, and later the Sheriff of Penobscot County, where he created many changes in jail procedure.
1998 - Det. David Giroux
Dates of Service 1966-1994 (28 Years)
CAREER: Sixth degree black belt in both Judo and Jujitsu, Eighth degree black belt in American Taiho Jitsu International. Joined MSP 1966, first patrol was in the Norridgewock area of Troop C, later transferred to Troop E in the Blue Hill area until retirement. From 1976 to 1982, he served as trainer, instructor, self-defense teacher and mentor to every police officer, warden, deputy sheriff and trooper in the state of Maine while assigned to Maine Criminal Justice Academy and Maine State Police Academy, Waterville. In 1980, joined State Police Tactical Team, responding statewide to deal with the most dangerous criminal offenders. By 1982, he had been promoted to corporal and later promoted again to detective. Giroux was selected to be part of a hand-picked group of investigators assigned to various district attorneys’ offices and was charged with investigating child abuse allegations.
1997 - Capt. G. Paul Falconer
Dates of Service 1957-1981 (24 Years)
CAREER: Falconer established several special response teams within the Maine State Police, including the Tactical Team, the Dive Team and Hostage Negotiators.
– No Legendary Trooper Awards given from 1994-1996 –
1993 - Det. Willard Parker
Dates of Service 1957-1977 (20 Years)
CAREER: Served with U.S. Army Military Police, and attended University of Maine, Colby College, Dale Carnegie Institute and the Frances G. Lee Homicide Investigation School. Parker was also an instructor at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. On May 15, 1959, Trooper Parker was wounded in the abdomen by gunshot in Limerick, ME. during a 5-hour gun battle standoff with Gordon Hamlin, who killed his wife and the Westbrook Chief of Police Peter Harnois, and wounded another Maine trooper, Steve Regina. Hamlin later shot himself, and the incident made national headlines. Over 100 police officers were involved in the standoff. Parker later served as security officer for Governor Longley.
1992 - Sgt. Gerald "Perry" Margeson
Dates of Service 1955-1975 (20 Years)
CAREER: Gerald Margeson served the Maine State Police as a patrol officer assigned to the Maine Turnpike. During his time as a Trooper, and later after his promotion to Sergeant, he investigated several serious accidents and fatalities on the Maine Turnpike. During the 1950s, his accident investigation and reporting skills led to advancements in accident reporting and invetigation techniques.
1991 - Tr. George "Bud" Graves
Dates of Service 1951-1971 (20 Years)
CAREER: He joined the Maine State Police in 1951 and patrolled the Van Buren area for a short time before transferring to Presque Isle, serving Aroostook County until 1971, when he retired. After a short service with the Public Utilities Commission working on commercial truck enforcement, he became Security Chief for Potato Service, American Kitchen Foods, Sal-Mor Farms and J R Simplot where he served another 14 years. Two of his sons, Ronald and Ralph, also joined the State Police and served distinguished careers.
1990 - Det. Camille Carrier
Dates of Service 1945-1967 (22 Years)
CAREER: Carrier began his career as a motorcycle patrolman in Madawaska, ME. In 1954, he was promoted to Troop Detective and transferred to Troop D, then in Auburn, ME. Carrier earned the name “Bulldog” for his tenacity in solving crimes, including the $65K robbery of Wilton Depositor Trust Bank. In 1959, Carrier was awarded a Citation for Bravery from the National Police Officer Organization, after he rescued wounded State police detective Steve Regina after a shootout.
1989 - Lt. Maynard Lindsey
Dates of Service 1936-1957 (21 Years)
CAREER: Jan. 23, 1948 Trooper Lindsey was wounded in a domestic dispute in Columbia, Maine.
1988 - Major J. Edward Marks
Dates of Service 1925-1975 (50 Years)
Major J. Edward Marks retires from the State Police after a 50-year career. Marks is considered the “Dean of the Nations State Troopers.” He was one of the original officers hired in 1925. A colorful trooper, during his motorcycle patrol days, he was known to carry a Maine black bear named Minnie in a sidecar on his motorcycle.
1987 - Sgt. Herman Boudreau
Dates of Service 1946-1967 (21 Years)
CAREER: 1941 US Army 103 Infantry, 43rd Division, 2nd Battalion. Awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and a Silver Star. Command Sgt. Major Maine Army National Guard. 1946 Maine State Police Highway Safety Program, instructor at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, teaching riot control and self-defense. Later became Chief of Police in Freeport ME.
1986 - Col. Donald Nichols
Dates of Service 1955-1976 (21 Years)
CAREER: A Marine Corp veteran serving in Korea, he attended McIntosh College, NH and University of Maine. Joined MSP in 1955, assigned to Kittery Truck Scales. 1956, China Patrol, Troop D, 1957 Troop A Kittery. 1966 transferred to Executive Security, promoted to Sgt. 1967, became advisor/aide to Gov. Ken Curtis. 1971 promoted to Lieutenant, 1972 appointed Deputy Chief of Maine State Police, and from 1974-76 served as Chief of Maine State Police. 1975 appointed as commissioner of Maine Dept. of Public Safety.
1985 - Tr. Lawrence Gauthier
Dates of Service 1942-1974 (32 Years)
CAREER: Bilingual, French & English. Amateur boxer, won 5 classes of Golden Gloves tournaments. 1920-30 Ft. McKinley military training. 43Rd Division, Company B Platoon Sgt. for 9 years. Joined Maine State Police July 1942, paid $20 a week for 7 days work. 1945-51 Troop A Berwick, 1951-58 Troop B Yarmouth, 1958-1974 served the Jackman area, with 110 mile patrol area, he eventually logged over 3 million cruiser miles.