Crandall reflects on tenure as sheriff

6 years ago

HOULTON, Maine — Citing a need for a new challenge in the workplace, former Aroostook County Sheriff Darrell Crandall is eager to tackle Maine’s growing drug problem. 

“I had certainly given some consideration to running again, but I will be honest, my punch list was empty,” Crandall said. “We (the sheriff’s office) accomplished everything I hoped for, thanks to great leadership from my team and the many mission-focused employees.”

Crandall said if he had remained with the sheriff’s office, he would have had to come up with a new list of goals to achieve, because of his personality as a goal-oriented individual.

“I am not happy working in an environment where I am not challenged,” he said. “I didn’t feel the challenge there (at the ACSO). This job that I am going into, it appears the challenge is never going to dissipate.”

Crandall, retired as sheriff last month after one term, and was quickly named as the northern commander for the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

“My plan was to stay as the sheriff until my term was up (in November), but I got the phone call from MDEA Director Roy McKinney asking me if I was interested. With things being as they are drug wise, it would have been highly selfish and not appropriate to ask them to hold that position for me for nine months.”

Crandall’s chief deputy at the sheriff’s office, Shawn Gillen, another MDEA veteran, will serve as acting sheriff until Gov. Paul LePage appoints a permanent replacement.

McKinney said Crandall is one of Maine’s most experienced drug investigators and will now oversee MDEA agents in the northern half of the state.

Crandall previously served as MDEA’s northern commander from around 2008 to 2013 before leaving that post to join the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office, first as chief deputy in 2013 and then taking over for James Madore when he retired.

Crandall, 51, of Houlton was elected as sheriff of Aroostook County in November, 2014 following his father’s footsteps. His father, Darrell Crandall Sr., was sheriff of the department from January 1965 until he retired in 1983.

Following a career as a jail guard that began in 1985, the younger Crandall started as a patrol guard in 1986 and later began a career with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, where he worked for 20 years. He worked as an investigative agent, was promoted and supervised field operations for 12 years, and finished his last eight years in the unit as division commander. In the summer of 2013, Crandall accepted the position of chief deputy sheriff just prior to being elected sheriff.

Crandall said he was proud of the staffing changes he was able to make at the ACSO, continuing the efforts started by former sheriff James Madore. He was also especially proud of the new programs that were added during his tenure, particularly the community service projects of inmates working for municipalities or non-profit charities.

“Not only did a lot of municipalities and charities benefit from that, but the inmates who had the opportunity to participate benefited as well,” he said. “As an extension of that, I am also proud of all the programming we brought into the jail in general. And most of that was all done by volunteers.”

Another program, the resident deputy program, helped increase coverage efforts by the ACSO by having deputies reside in different parts of The County and be responsible for that coverage area.

“We are now covering all of The County, all of the time, as opposed to the way it was done before with a call sharing program (with state and local police),” Crandall said. “Before, we were only in one small part of The County every five weeks. The impact (the change) had to prevent and solve crimes was amazing.”

Now, however, Crandall is focused on the new challenges that the MDEA presents. Leading the drug enforcement agency’s northern region against the network of drug traffickers that have infiltrated the state might be daunting for some, but not Crandall.

A record 418 Mainers died from overdoses last year, up from 376 in 2016. The region includes operations north of Kennebec County, with offices in Augusta, Bangor, Ellsworth and Houlton.

“In my 33 years of policing, I have not seen the public safety and health stakes associated with drug abuse as high as they are right now,” he said. “On various fronts, when you look at the statistics on drug overdose deaths and babies being born affected by drugs, if there has ever been a public health crisis, it is now.”

He added that drug-related violence also has spiked in recent years, because of the increased presence of gang-related criminal organizations who are pumping drugs into the state.

“It used to be that most of the activity happened in the rural, southern portion of the state,” he said. “But now, those things are happening in Aroostook and Washington counties. There are armed confrontations and more drug-related homicides than ever before. I absolutely view this as a challenge worth tackling.”

Crandall takes over from Peter Arno, who called today’s traffickers the worst Maine has ever seen shortly before stepping down from the post in January. The two have formed a lasting friendship through their years of working together.

“Peter had retired from Bangor (Police Department) and was in the private sector when I went back to the sheriff’s office in 2013,” Crandall said. “I contacted him and encouraged him, if he was interested, to apply for the MDEA position.”

Every person assigned to the MDEA has a home sponsoring agency, Crandall explained and he hired Arno as a deputy sheriff, based out of the Aroostook County office. Now, in Crandall’s new position, he said he was proud to be sponsored by the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians.

“The MDEA has no full-time employees other than the director,” Crandall explained. “Everyone in the department is assigned by another (outside) agency as part of the task force concept.”

Maliseet Tribal Chief Clarissa Sabattis said her mother worked in law enforcement for most of her life, so she has known Crandall for many years. That relationship blossomed further once she took over as tribal chief last year.

“After taking office, HBMI worked with (the Houlton Police Department), who hosted a meeting for law enforcement, Sabattis said. “The purpose was to try to strengthen relationships between the tribes and local/state law enforcement.”

Chief Peter Paul from the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, and representatives of the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Police Departments, Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office, state police, and  Presque Isle Police Department were all at the table discussing how to improve relations.

“Darrell and I have kept in touch since this meeting,” she explained. “He spoke with me about this (sponsorship) being a possibility and thought that this relationship made sense, considering our current efforts, and I agreed. HBMI will sponsor his position with the DEA, and it is my hope that this will assist in strengthening relationships, and improve communication.”

Crandall will have offices in Houlton, Bangor, Ellsworth and Augusta.

“We can’t arrest our way out of this (drug) problem, but we also can’t stop arresting those who are commercializing on the suffering of others,” Crandall said. “We can’t stop it. It’s our job to reduce the palatability of doing business here in Maine.”