Somerset County Cpl. Eugene Cole appears to be the 85th law enforcement officer to have died in the line of duty in Maine, according to state records dating back to the early 1800s.
He is the first to die from gunfire since the death of Maine State Police Detective Giles Landry, who was gunned down in his cruiser outside a mobile home in Leeds while investigating a child abuse case on March 31, 1989.
The first Maine officer to die in the line of duty was Ebenezer Parker, who was killed in 1808 while working for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the records show.
The names of Maine’s fallen officers are engraved in granite on the Maine Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Augusta, next to the State House.
Timeline
4/25/2018: Cpl. Eugene Cole, Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, shot in Norridgewock while on duty.
6/6/2017: Officer Nathan M. Desjardins, Fryeburg Police Department, injuries suffered in a boat crash while responding to a call to search for a missing canoeist.
3/24/2011: Daryl R. Gordon, Maine Warden Service, in a plane crash on Clear Lake in a remote section of Piscataquis County.
11/4/2006: David Rancourt, Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, suffered a fatal heart attack while searching for evidence in the Androscoggin River.
12/29/1999: Charles B. Baker, Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, died when his cruiser crashed on Route 2 in Palmyra on while on en route to back up a Maine State Police officer.
11/7/1997: Norman J. Dube, Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office, died from a heart attack while on a traffic stop on Pinkham Road in Ashland.
10/10/1997: Glenn Strange, Maine State Police, died of heart problems days after a drunken driving suspect punched and kicked him in the chest while being arrested in Linneus.
4/15/1996: James A. Griffith, Maine State Police, was killed when his patrol car was struck by an ice truck.
11/13/1994: Jeffrey S. Parola, Maine State Police, in a crash in Sidney while responding to a domestic dispute call.
11/21/1992: William F. Hanrahan, Maine Warden Service, suffered a heart attack while investigating reports of inebriated hunters in the woods near Starks.
10/1/1990: Jim Swint, Brunswick Police Department, died after swerving into a telephone pole to avoid another car during a pursuit.
10/13/1989: William A. Williams, Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.
3/31/1989: Giles R. Landry, Maine State Police, shot while investigating a domestic violence complaint.
9/23/1988: Josiah B. Mahar, U.S. Border Patrol, killed in a car crash while on patrol.
7/23/1988: David R. Payne, Lewiston Police Department, shot while responding to a report of a traffic violation.
5/9/1987: Jeffrey L. Bull, Lebanon Police Department.
6/17/1986: Michael R. Veilleux, Maine State Police.
7/30/1984: Donald E. Davey, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
9/11/1982: Robert J. Gallant, Berwick Police Department.
3/17/1982: Carroll W. Millett, Paris Police Department.
4/6/1981: Rodney C. Bonney, Auburn Police Department.
7/12/1980: Thomas J. Merry, Maine State Police.
12/29/1978: Timothy L. Willard, Paris Police Department.
3/2/1977: Charles J. Wilson, Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.
12/15/1976: Frank H. Elliott, Thomaston Police Department.
11/6/1974: Louis E. Daigle, Madawaska Police Department.
9/1/1973: Elliott S. Johnson, Thomaston Police Department.
9/27/1972: Richard E. Varney, Maine Warden Service.
7/1/1968: R. Lyle Frost Jr., Maine Warden Service.
10/29/1966: Jean C. Mondville, Biddeford Police Department.
1/1/1966: Ralph A. Chase, Gardiner Police Department.
11/26/1965: Dale A. Macdonald, Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.
10/29/1965: Ralph W. Heath, Baxter State Park.
11/18/1964: Herbert E. Towne, Newport Police Department.
7/9/1964: Charles C. Black, Maine State Police.
9/20/1963: John E. Sutton, University of Maine Orono Police Department.
9/4/1959: Frank J. Buzynski, Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
9/4/1959: Frank E. Ross Jr., Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
5/14/1959: Pierre A. Harnois, Westbrook Police Department.
11/13/1958: Karl A. Jacobson, National Park Service.
7/7/1958: Paul J. Simard, Lewiston Police Department.
8/27/1956: George E. Townsend, Maine Warden Service.
8/18/1951: Howard W. Eye, Calais Police Department.
6/28/1950: Francis A. Murray, Bangor Police Department.
7/7/1949: Norman C. Philbrick, Auburn Police Department.
9/17/1948: Claude W. Kimball, Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.
6/3/1946: Randall E. Shelley, Maine Warden Service.
8/20/1940: E. Dean Pray, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
6/5/1938: Thaxter M. Reardon, Millinocket Police Department.
2/16/1938: John D. Chapman, Rockland Police Department.
11/24/1936: Thomas E. Giggey, Fort Fairfield Police Department.
10/22/1935: Robert L. Moore, Maine Warden Service.
5/13/1933: Jean Babtiste Jalbert, Maine Warden Service.
5/5/1933: Reuben Blackman, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
11/18/1932: Frank H. Curtis, Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office.
7/29/1932: Edward F. O’Donnell, Biddeford Police Department.
4/8/1932: Joseph Honore Dutremble, Biddeford Police Department.
9/16/1930: Hans P. Smith, Portland Police Department.
8/15/1930: Michael T. Connolly, Portland Police Department.
5/17/1930: Seldon L. Jones, Augusta Police Department.
8/19/1928: Frank C. Wing, Maine Warden Service.
9/1/1927: Lee H. Parker, Maine Warden Service.
8/30/1925: Fred A. Foster, Maine State Police.
8/9/1924: Emery O. Gooch, Maine State Police.
11/14/1922: Mertley E. Johnston, Maine Warden Service.
11/14/1922: David F. Brown, Maine Warden Service.
10/8/1921: Leslie Robinson, Maine Warden Service.
7/19/1921: Arthur G. Deag, Maine Warden Service.
6/15/1920: Joseph Goulet, Biddeford Police Department.
12/16/1915: Charles E. Mcintosh, Portland Police Department.
12/21/1914: Harold C. Hillman, Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office.
6/18/1913: Maurice D. Beane, Passadumkeag Police Department.
11/22/1911: John Webster, Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.
11/22/1911: Edward Finn, Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.
3/7/1903: Patrick H. Jordon, Bangor Police Department.
11/18/1893: Harrison Whitman, Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.
4/30/1893: Granville A. Hayden, Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office.
11/8/1886: Charles W. Niles, Maine Warden Service.
11/8/1886: Lyman O. Hill, Maine Warden Service.
11/4/1884: Rufus R. Lishness, Augusta Police Department.
10/9/1884: Thomas F. Malloy, Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office.
9/3/1883: William Lawrence, Bath Police Department.
6/14/1879: James P. Robbins , Rockland Police Department.
1/28/1811: John T. Downes, Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
1/1/1808: Ebenezer Parker, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
Sources: Bangor Daily News archives, media reports and Maine Department of Public Safety. Further details about these officers may be found at the Officer Down Memorial Page.
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