Recognizing our Hometown Heroes - By Sgt. William T. Andrew

                       

 On April 12, the Portland Sea Dogs held their 7^th Annual Hometown Heroes game at Hadlock Field. The Portland Sea Dogs honored police officers, fire fighters, EMS workers and volunteers from all over the State of Maine. A recognition ceremony was held prior to the start of Saturday’s game

This year was the first year that the Windham Police Department participated in this ceremony. Even though all of our police officers are deserving of this recognition for the work they do, the supervisory staff of the police department choose three officers: Officer Jason Burke, Officer Jim Cook and Detective Paul Cox to represent the Windham Police Department as our Hometown Heroes. Each of the three offers a different level of expertise to the department. 

Officer Burke is one of the accident reconstructionists that the police department relies on to reconstruct motor vehicle crashes, and to perform other specialized investigative techniques surrounding motor vehicles. 

Officer Cook is part of the police department’s Field Training Program. His strong work ethic and decision making ability make him a vital part in the initial training of new police officers. He is also part of the Cumberland County Regionalized Impaired Driving Enforcement Team also known as the R.I.D.E Team. Officer Cook also assists in training at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy on the use of the speed radars.

Detective Cox was reassigned from the patrol division to the criminal investigative division in May of 2012. Since that time he has worked closely with other local police departments as well as state and federal law enforcement agencies. This work has involved solving cases which may start, involve or end within the Town of Windham. His knowledge and experience have helped to solve cases both old and new. He is also a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) and instructor for the DRE program. 

To help honor our heroes, Windham Town Manager Tony Plante joined friends, family and co-workers, at Hadlock Field. While we recognize the police officer, the fire fighter, and the EMS worker who make daily sacrifices, we must also remember that it is the families of our heroes who are also sacrificing daily - when their loved ones miss holidays and birthdays in order to keep all of us safe. So join the Town of Windham and the Portland Sea Dogs in extending a special thanks to them, and all of our Local Hometown Heroes.