VASSALBORO — Maine’s 14 newest troopers received their badges in ceremonies Friday at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro.
The new troopers completed 10 weeks of specialized State Police training and will now patrol with a veteran trooper before patrolling on their own.
Troopers Matthew Curtin and Patrick Pescitelli have been assigned to Troop F in Aroostook County.
Curtin
Curtin, who hails from Brockton, Mass., earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Massasoit Community College in 2013. He currently resides in St. John Plantation.
Pescitelli
Patrick Pescitelli is from West Babylon, N.Y. He graduated from West Babylon High School in 2012 and from Husson University in 2016.
Also among the new troopers is Cooper Plaisted, originally from Hampden and a 2013 graduate of the University of Maine at Presque Isle. He will join Troop E in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties.
Administering the oath of office was the Chief of the State Police, Colonel Robert Williams, who told the new troopers, “You embark on a journey few have taken and will be called upon to do the unthinkable and see things that no one should, all because you have committed yourself to serve as guardians for the people of Maine. Unlike other professions, there is no on and off duty. You are always a trooper.”
State Police continue to have 25 trooper vacancies out of their 330-person complement, even with the new troopers, and seven more that continue to train at the academy.
