LISBON

L t. Dan Michel retired Thursday after 39 years with the

Lisbon Police, after having worked his way up to become second in command at the department. Police Chief David Brooks also served his last day Thursday after 42 years with the department. The two have known each other since their academy days.

Michel grew up in Auburn and his father had worked in a shoe factory.

Michel saw that the law enforcement profession would allow him to be outdoors, offer a steady paycheck and benefits.

Michel met Brooks at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in 1975, where they were roommates for a short time.

The following year Brooks told Michel about an opening in Lisbon, and he started that December.

Michel married his high school sweetheart Gwen in 1975 and they have a son and daughter. The couple now have five grandchildren.

Michel has also enjoyed serving as the department’s firearms instructor since 1980.

“It’s not playing with guns,” he said. “It’s decision-making,” and delves into the scope of use of force and when to use the tools you have.

He has also enjoyed vetting new hires.

“We have excellent people,” he said, adding that the police department is second to none.

Although his work was often rewarding, there have been dark times.

Michel recalled an instance several years ago when he saw a man kill himself in front his brother.

A few days later there was a fatal vehicle collision during an ice storm in Bowdoin. He was the second officer on scene and found a mother and child killed. He loaded three surviving children in his cruiser, who kept asking if their mom was OK. All he could say was the ambulance was coming to help her.

“I was a wreck after that,” he said, removing his glasses to wipe his eyes.

While working his first Thanksgiving in 1977, he was called to a shooting. A 14-yearold boy had shot and killed his father in self-defense during a domestic abuse incident. He arrived to find the mother and three daughters in the yard sobbing.

Every Thanksgiving he thinks of that family.

Michel said the department has had to do more with less resources in recent years. Officers are responding to many domestic situations and drug-related calls. The drug problem is very bad right now, he said.

While cleaning out his office this week, he came across a journal kept by a former Richmond High School student who had done an internship with the department for a senior project. The student was valedictorian of his class and is now a police officer on the West Coast.

Michel said he was excited that he got to mentor the student, adding that his advice for aspiring police officers and all young people is to seek out mentors in their fields of interest.

Next for Michel is time with the grandchildren. Next year he wants to take a trip out West. The Civil War junky loves American history and has his own bucket list.

“It’s kind of crazy but I’ve always wanted to see Mount Rushmore,” he said. “I’ve wanted to go to the Battle of the Little Bighorn where Custer was killed. I want to see Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park, and other places too.”

dmoore@timesrecord.com