Six new troopers join ranks of Maine State Police

The Maine Department of Public Safety has six new Maine state troopers patrolling the state. They graduated from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy recently and are in the final stages of their field training, patrolling with a veteran trooper. Five other new troopers are undergoing training at the academy and will begin their field training at the end of October.

The new troopers on patrol and their troops are as follows:

Troop B (Gray) – Trooper Daniel Hanson, 28, is patrolling Androscoggin County. Hanson grew up in South Paris, is a 1992 graduate of Oxford Hills High School and attended the University of Southern Maine. He is a former South Paris police officer.

Troop C (Skowhegan) – Trooper William Plourde, 35, is patrolling the Readfield-Fayette area. Trooper Jeffrey Beach, 31, is patrolling Somerset County.

Plourde, of Gardiner, is a former Gardiner police officer and former corrections officer at the Maine Correctional Center. He grew up in Manchester and graduated in 1985 from Maranacook Community High School, Readfield, and attended the University of Maine at Augusta.

Beach, of St. Albans, is a former state trooper who left the department two years ago to become a private pilot. He served 41/2 years with the state police patrolling Somerset County. He grew up in Southbury, Conn., and is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.

Troop E (Orono) – Troopers Forrest Simpson Jr. and Michael Johnston are patrolling Penobscot County.

Simpson, 33, of Etna, is a former Dover-Foxcroft police officer and former delivery truck driver. He grew up in Etna and Dixmont and is a 1987 graduate of Nokomis Regional High School, Newport.

Johnston, 24, of Bangor, is a former reserve officer with the Fort Fairfield Police Department. He is a 1996 graduate of Brewer High School and holds an associate degree from the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

Troop J (East Machias) – Trooper Daniel Worcester, 25, is patrolling Washington County. Worcester, of Calais, grew up in Columbia and is a 1996 graduate of Narraguagus High School, Cherryfield. He holds an associate degree from the University of Maine.