By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Caribou Police Chief Michael Gahagan recently celebrated his 40th anniversary on the Caribou Police Force. He began his career in law enforcement in 1973, patrolling the streets of Caribou on foot during a much simpler time when the flicker of a street lamp beckoned officers back to the station and a broom handle was the high tech tool used to turn on the colorful Christmas lights strung across the merchant section of Sweden Street.
“We used to have to stand on the bumper of the patrol car at 4 p.m. every night with a broom handle to turn on the switch for the lights,” Gahagan said. “And, believe me, if those lights weren’t on right at 4, you’d get phone calls from the stores.”
With a father who retired as the fire chief and two brothers in the State Police and U.S. Customs, Gahagan was no stranger to civil service.
“I grew up on Roberts Street. All my uncles and fathers and brothers, we called it The Alley. At one time, there were 26 of us. When the alarm rang, you’d see all the vehicles going. We never carpooled back then. Gas was a lot cheaper,” Gahagan joked.
The sense of humor he’s been able to maintain over the years is one thing Gahagan attributes to remaining on the force for so long without burning out.
“Really, if you don’t have a good sense of humor, the stress is going to get you,” Gahagan admitted. “I’m fortunate that I had a good sense of humor. Plus, I had my whole family to be able to debrief myself. They knew what was going on and they understood.”
The Gahagan family tradition of working in public service has continued with the next generation. Gahagan and his wife, Ann, a nurse practitioner, have three daughters who all work in either the social services or medical fields. And Gahagan’s son-in-law works for U.S. Customs.
Being the close relative of the local police chief could be worrisome, but Gahagan advises that neither he nor his family have ever experienced problems with other people related to his profession. Gahagan believes the respect he’s bestowed upon everyone he’s encountered over the years has been the major factor in he and his family receiving respect in return.
“In all my years, I’ve never had a harassing phone call, I’ve never had an off-duty encounter with someone who was upset with me. My daughters all graduated from Caribou, and they’ve never had any problems,” Gahagan said. “Knock on wood, I’ve been lucky. Having a supportive family has been such an important thing.”
And, Gahagan recalls, his family has had some firsthand involvement in his early work.
“When I first started, one of the extra duties we had to get a little extra money was to take individuals that were being sent away for being drunk and disorderly down to the local jail,” Gahagan recalled. “I would take my family, with my family car, and we would get $20 extra to haul a prisoner down. And the baby would be sitting in the backseat in her chair and the prisoner would be talking to her. Would we dare do that today? No.”
Throughout the years, Gahagan worked his way up the ranks of sergeant and lieutenant to become Caribou’s police chief in 2005. His involvement in over 24 different organizations, coalitions and community projects earned him the Champion of Service Award from the Maine Commission for Community Service in 2012. He served a term as president of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association and has been instrumental in implementing the department’s drug take back and sharps disposal programs.
Gahagan believes his most important role as chief is to determine what direction the community wants the department to go in and lead the way.
“My uniform is the same uniform as the officers’. I manage the assets and direct where we hope the community wants us to go. I feel out what the community wants us to enforce. We are always working toward prevention type things,” Gahagan explained. “I’ve had many bosses, I’ve had many chiefs, I’ve had many counselors, I’ve had many managers, but I’ve really only worked for my citizens. It’s my involvement with my community that really keeps the pulse of where we’re going.”
The chief has found over the years that his favorite part of the job is the people he’s had the pleasure to work with.
“You figure, I’ve spent two-thirds of my career on other shifts. Evenings and midnights were always with who was here with me,” Gahagan said. “That’s been enjoyable. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go.”
His least favorite part has been dealing with the judicial system and its delays and what can appear to be favoritism toward the accused criminal.
“My older brother is a victims’ advocate. When they come to court, he prepares them for the letdowns,” Gahagan commented.
Gahagan’s advice to anyone considering entering law enforcement?
“Get a good education. Develop good common sense,” Gahagan advised. “All the education in the world will not out rule that little bit of common sense. Most of the time in our profession, if we use that common sense, we do not have to act in a manner that will be detrimental to everybody.”
After 40 years, is there any one case that sticks out in Gahagan’s mind?
“No. There have been deaths, there have been homicides, there have been bad accidents, and there have been fires. Those are the bad things,” Gahagan said. “But there have also been good things. Just off the top of my head, I remember going down the south side of town and I saw this truck coming out of a garage and nobody was in it. I got into it and stopped it from going through another building. There are a multitude of little acts like that that make up the job.”
Gahagan says that, of course, a passion for what he does is the most important element to his longevity.
“It really is the people that are passionate in their profession that make a difference. Surely if I didn’t like my profession, I wouldn’t have been here for 40 years. The mayor said to me the other day, ‘I don’t know if I’ve met anyone who’s been in the same profession for 40 years.’ I said, ‘It’s just gone by so fast.’”
