AUGUSTA, Maine — A longtime law enforcement officer has been nominated as the next colonel of the Maine State Police.
Gov. Janet Mills said Wednesday that she would nominate Major William Ross to lead state police. Ross is currently the operations manager for the Maine State Police, overseeing eight patrol units, three major crimes units, and the commercial vehicles enforcement units.
“Major Ross is a dedicated law enforcement professional who exemplifies the Maine State Police’s values of integrity, fairness, compassion, and excellence,” Mills said in a release. "His decades of experience, from his years as a patrol officer to his years on command staff, position him well to become the next Colonel and to lead the Maine State Police into the future as they protect and serve the people of Maine.”
Ross, 50, joined the Maine State Police in 2002 as a trooper with Troop A, which patrols York County. He subsequently was a detective and then sergeant of a major crimes unit serving York, Cumberland, Androscoggin, Oxford, and Franklin counties. He also served in the Professional Standards Division/Internal Affairs, was promoted to lieutenant of Troop A in 2015, and to operations manager in 2020.
In 2020, Ross received the Giles Landry Award as a detective in the Major Crimes Unit South. The award is named for a detective killed in the line of duty in 1989 while investigating a child abuse case in Leeds.
Ross would succeed former Colonel John Cote who retired in September after 33 years with the Maine State Police.
The Legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will review the nomination and the Maine State Senate must vote to confirm him.