HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton Police Department has lost three of its officers over the past several months, but Chief Tim DeLuca said on Monday evening that he has already hired their replacements.
Getting them fully trained will take a bit longer, however, he told the Town Council.
DeLuca made the remarks during the public comment portion of the council meeting.
“Over the past three months, we have lost three police officers for a variety of reasons,” DeLuca told the council. “One of the things that we have done is we have recruited potential applicants that are from this region in the hopes they would invest in a career here in Houlton.”
DeLuca told councilors that the move ended up paying off for the department.
“We have received a good response from applicants over the past few weeks,” he said. “And I consider myself very fortunate to receive the response that we have had. We have been able to hire three people to fill the spots.”
The first officer hired was Jeffery Wotton, a 2013 graduate of Houlton High School who is serving in the U.S. Air Force, on the condition that he pass the police academy program. DeLuca said he should start at the department in late December or early January.
The department also hired Shane Campbell, who currently works at the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, where he has spent the past year.
“Prior to that, he gave seven years to the Farmington Police Department and 15 years to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department,” he said. “He is very anxious to come home. He is fully academy trained. We will be able to get him trained in a short time, hopefully next month.”
The last officer hired is Russell Socoby, a Greater Houlton Christian Academy graduate who is serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.
“He will be finished with his duties next month,” said DeLuca. “Russell and Jeff are both local but it is going to take longer to train both of them. I would estimate that it will take eight to 12 months before they are fully finished with their training.”
In other business, the council accepted the bid of $103,340.00 for the first year of the five-year bid period from Maine Municipal Association to provide the town’s property and casualty insurance coverage.
