The University of Maine’s police chief and top security official is leaving the role after more than a decade in the position.
Roland LaCroix has been the chief of the University of Maine Police Department since 2010, when the longtime chief and public safety director, Noel March, left the position to become Maine’s U.S. marshal. LaCroix has been a member of the UMaine police force for 14 years, starting as a captain before he was named interim chief in April 2010.
While LaCroix is leaving the role, he is switching to another position at the University of Maine, university spokesperson Margaret Nagle said. Once a new chief is selected, LaCroix will take on a new role as the on-campus coordinator of veterans’ affairs in the university’s Veterans Education and Transition Services office, she said.
The office connects student veterans with resources to help their transition from combat to classroom.
LaCroix moved to Maine to take a job as a captain in the UMaine police department in 2008 and is a career law enforcement officer.
Before moving in 2008, he worked for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida for 26 years. When he left, he was a commander for the sheriff’s office. Before then, he was a Florida state trooper.
The university is searching for LaCroix’s replacement and will bring three finalists to the Orono campus in the coming weeks, Nagle said.
The UMaine police department has nine fully sworn police officers, including the police chief. As the department is in the midst of a leadership change it is also working to hire three full-time police officers and one part-time officer, as well as one full-time sergeant, Nagle said.
Once those positions are filled, the campus police force will have 13 sworn officers.