Damariscotta Deputy Police Chief Chad Andrews resigned effective Aug. 9, concluding a 22-year career in law enforcement in Lincoln County.
Andrews, 43, recently of Nobleboro, has since moved to Sebring, Fla. with his wife and their 6-year-old son. His wife has a job there as a respiratory therapist, and Andrews plans to complete his Florida certification and work in law enforcement or security.
He leaves the Damariscotta Police Department after about 12 years, including roughly 18 months as chief of police.
As word spread about Andrews’ impending departure, Hilltop Stop posted a sign reading “You will be missed Deputy Chief Chad Andrews, good luck.”
Local residents, business owners, and fellow officers have stopped by to wish him well, as have the dispatchers, emergency medical technicians, and firefighters he has worked alongside throughout his career.
“Sometimes you don’t realize how much you’re appreciated ’til you do go to leave,” Andrews said in an interview during his final shift. “Sometimes people don’t say it, but I’ve been floored the past couple days.”
Andrews credits this good will to the genuine care and concern he shows for the people of the community.
“People know I legitimately care and I’m going to be there for them, one way or another, and I’ll sacrifice whatever I have to of myself to make sure they’re safe,” he said.
He hates to see people bullied, victimized, or afraid, he said.
“I do take it personally when I’m working,” Andrews said. “If something happens in my town, on the shift I’m working, regardless of not being able to prevent everything, I still feel bad that something happened on my shift.”
Andrews grew up in Boothbay Harbor. A graduate of Boothbay Region Elementary School and Boothbay Region High School, he was attracted to law enforcement from an early age.
A Maine Marine Patrol officer visited Boothbay Region High School on career day when Andrews was 16. The officer’s passion for the job appealed to Andrews.
“I was like, this is it. This is the job for me,” Andrews said.
Andrews graduated from Southern Maine Technical College with an associate degree in law enforcement and went to work for the Boothbay Harbor Police Department.
In 2002, Todd Brackett, then Damariscotta’s police chief, hired Andrews to work in Damariscotta.
Andrews learned a lot from Lincoln County’s future sheriff, he said. “I just want to thank him for giving me the opportunity to actually work for this town and meet the people of this town,” he said.
Lincoln County voters elected Brackett sheriff in November 2002. The town hired Steve Drake, a former Maine State Police homicide detective, to replace him.
Drake promoted Andrews to sergeant, the department’s second in command.
“We’re very different police officers, but we complemented each other perfectly,” Andrews said. “He was the best investigator I’ve ever seen and I was a road cop, and that was what I was meant to do and the investigation was what he was meant to do.”
Andrews had a turbulent tenure as police chief, beginning with his sudden appointment as acting police chief in April 2011, after a dispute between Drake and the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen.
“I didn’t want to be a chief, and would have been happy to stay there for 20 years under Chief Drake as a sergeant,” Andrews said. “I loved working with him as my chief.”
Drake resigned in May 2011, and the selectmen hired Andrews to replace him in September. The next year, the selectmen sought authority to eliminate the department and contract with Lincoln County for police services.
Andrews and his officers fought back, and Damariscotta voters rejected an amendment to the town charter that would have enabled the selectmen to pursue the change.
In March 2013, Damariscotta Town Manager Matt Lutkus demoted Andrews to deputy chief, citing management issues.
“I don’t think I was ever meant to be a chief, but I am still proud of the job I did as a chief,” Andrews said. He would not have left if he was still chief, he said.
Andrews served as deputy police chief under Brackett, as interim chief, and under current Damariscotta Police Chief Ron Young since September 2013.
Andrews praised Young’s work with the fourth-grade class at Great Salt Bay Community School to design the graphics on the department’s new cruiser.
“I know it was a big hit with my niece … she makes a special point to point out that ‘I helped design that,’ and loves to see it when she comes to the police department to visit me,” Andrews said. “I think that was a really great idea.”
“He’s a very nice guy, very nice family,” Andrews said.
Young, meanwhile, said Andrews “is definitely going to be missed.”
Andrews’ strengths were in community service and “how he could relate to people,” Young said. “He knew the offenders and the issues of the town, and he was very competent in patrol and understanding what needed to be done for the town.”
Andrews will miss Maine and especially his family here, he said. He has a 15-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter from a previous marriage and plans to fly the children down for visits on school vacations.
Looking back on his career in Lincoln County, Andrews said he has responded to his share of “hot calls,” the “exciting and dangerous” arrests, fights, and high-speed chases, but he takes the most pride in the development of officers he has trained and in his relationship with the communities he has served.
“I couldn’t be happier, as far as the fact that all my hard work has paid off and people really, truly knew I was there to help them no matter what,” he said.
Andrews’ departure leaves the small department with vacancies for two full-time officers. Officer Jason Warlick will serve as acting sergeant while the department seeks to fill the positions, Young said.
