Department History
Chief Willis Carll
The Gorham Police Department as we know it today has evolved from a part-time Constable Service that provided police services to the citizens of Gorham.
The last Police Chief under the constable service was Willis Carll. He was appointed to the position of Police Chief in 1958 and held that position until 1964. Chief Carll was a part-time employee and headed a force of part-time officers.
In his annual report submitted in February of 1958, he stated that "The present Constable force operates very similar to our Fire Department in that our members have other occupations and are paid for the hours actually worked". He went on to say that the patrols consisted of one or two men in their private cars and that they had logged over 4,563 miles patrolling and answering complaints.
In his last report for fiscal years 1963 / 1964, Chief Carll reported that they brought 19 cases before the Municipal Court, handled 26 accidents, and brought numerous juvenile delinquents before Juvenile Court.
Chief Stephen Wentworth
At the Annual Town Meeting on March 9, 1964, it was moved and seconded that the Town appropriate the sum of $15,000.00 for the support of the Police Department, and to instruct the Selectmen to employ a full-time Police Chief, and said chief be a qualified graduate of the State Police Academy or its equivalent, and that employment be effective on or before April 1, 1965. This motion was past by a vote of 206 in the affirmative and 112 in the negative.
On April 12, 1964, Stephen Wentworth became Gorham's first full-time Chief of Police. Steve had been a member of the State Police for twenty years and prior to that he had worked on the Portland Police Department for three years. When interviewed about his new job, he said that it would be on of "Challenge and Responsibility". He further stated that he had his work cut out for him and he would welcomed it.
Three weeks after his appointment as Chief, another newspaper article stated that although he was still working without uniforms and was still awaiting delivery of the police cruiser, he was busy handling calls. He had investigated three missing persons, three early morning calls of police matters, several early morning false alarms and a larceny case. He also had several calls of speeders and drag racing, but he turned those calls over to the State Police because he was not going to go chasing speeders with his wife's old car.
On July 31, 1964, Chief Wentworth resigned as Chief and returned to the State Police.
Chief Cortland Tice
Cortland Tice was hired in the fall of 1964 to replace Chief Wentworth. Prior to coming to Gorham, Cort had been the Chief of Police in Washingtonville, New York.
Chief Edmund Hagan
In the fall of 1974, Chief TIce left Gorham and Edmund Hagan was hired as the next Chief of Police. Ed had been with the Bath Police Department for 15 years and held the rank of Sergeant when he left to come here. Chief Hagan was quoted as saying that "jails were the last result in police work". He went on to say that in police work, "our job is 90% prevention". The other "10% falls to the courts and the legal system as the last step when all other measures fail". It was at this time that the police station moved into the new facility on Main Street. The Gorham Police Department currently had a full-time staff of six officers and four dispatchers.
During Chief Hagan's tenure, six additional officers were added to the department as well as a Sergeants position and two Corporal positions and a part-time detective for a total staff of twelve police officers and five full-time dispatchers.
For the fiscal year 1984/1985, the Department responded to 677 accidents, made 169 arrests, and investigated 76 burglaries, 90 thefts, 15 assaults, 9 arsons, and 1 homicide.
Chief David Kurz
In 1985, Chief Hagan retired and David Kurz was hired as his replacement. David had been with our department for eight years and had held the rank of Corporal before his appointment to Chief.
Upon becoming Chief, Kurz instituted a high visibility patrol program believing that with high visibility of the officers on the street, tha the criminal element would not come to Gorham to commit crimes because of the fear of being caught. This was a success as property crimes were reduced by 34% in that first year.
In 1990, Chief Kurz resigned as Chief to take a position as Assistant Director for Maine Drug Enforcement. He has since left there and took a position as Chief of Police for the Durham, NH Police Department. During Chief Kurz tenure, he created the position of Lieutenant and two Sergeants positions, eliminated the two Corporal positions and created a full-time Detective's position. This brought the department numbers to 15 full-time officers and 5 full-time dispatchers.
Chief Edward Tolan
Edward Tolan became our next Chief in January 1991. Chief Tolan had been a Captain with the Cape Elizabeth Police Department and had worked there since 1974. Under Chief Tolan's leadership, the department added one additional officer and created a full-time School Resource Officer. Chief Tolan also hired a full-time administrative assistant. In 1991, the department brought on line the first computerized record system for the department.
During fiscal year 1994/1995, the department investigated 504 accidents, issued 2594 summonses, made 381 arrests, and handled 10,022 calls for service.
In 1995, Chief Tolan resigned taking a position as Chief of Police with the Falmouth, Maine Police Department.
Chief Ronald Shepard
In September 1995, Ronald Shepard was appointed as Chief of Police. Chief Shepard has served with the Gorham Polce Department since 1972.
Under Chief Shepard, the current staffing for the Department consists of 23 sworn officers and two civilian employees. The staffing includes 1 Chief, 1 Lieutenant, 5 Sergeants, 2 Detectives, 2 School Rescource Officers, 1 Traffic Enforcement / Animal Control Officer, 1 DEA Drug Task Force Officer, 10 Patrolman, 1 Administrative Assistant and 1 Detective's Office Assistant.
In 2005, the Gorham Police Department was merged with the Cumberland County Regional Communication Center.
On November 4, 2014, Chief Shepard retired after a 42 year career with the Gorham Police Department.
Chief Dan Jones
Chief Dan Jones began his law enforcement career in 1990 as a police officer in Ft. Pierce, Florida. He was a field training officer, SWAT team member and ended his tenure there as an investigator in a narcotics unit. In 1995, Dan joined the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office (Florida) where he worked as a patrol deputy, field training officer, major crimes detective (investigating homicides, shootings, robberies, etc), narcotics investigator, patrol sergeant and finally as the head of the investigative unit of the county-wide narcotics task force. During his time with the Sheriff’s Office, Dan was on a US DEA task force and US Customs task force; he was also the liaison between the Sheriff’s Office and the US Attorney’s Office.
In 2008, Dan moved to Maine and was hired as a detective with the Kennebunk Police Department. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2011; he was the Patrol Commander until 2014 when he was promoted again to the rank of Deputy Chief.
The Gorham Police Department selected Dan to be its new police chief in August of 2015.
Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Husson University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He has taught a variety of topics at police academies in Maine and Florida.
Chief Christopher Sanborn
Chief Christopher Sanborn began his law enforcement career with the City of Westbrook Police Department in 1988 as a Reserve Police Officer. He was hired in July of 1989 with the Gorham Police Department as a full-time Patrol Officer and was assigned to the midnight shift. He graduated from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy Municipal County Basic Police School in June of 1990. He was certified as a Field Training Officer in 1992 and established the Gorham Police Department’s first Field Training Program.
In February of 1993 he was promoted to the Rank of Sergeant. As a Sergeant he directly supervised a patrol shift of 2 to 7 Officers, supervised the Reserve Police Officer Program and Field Training Program. In July of 2005 he was promoted to the Rank of Lieutenant. He served as the Department’s second in command and worked closely with the Chief of Police in all aspects of the administration of the Department. He directly supervised all Patrol Sergeants and the Criminal Investigative Division.
In July of 2016 he was promoted to the Rank of Deputy Chief. He is the first member of the Gorham Police Department to hold the Rank of Deputy Chief. Again, in this role he served as the Department’s second in command and worked closely with the Chief of Police in all aspects of the administration of the Department. He was the Criminal Investigations Division Commander. He became the District II Regional Training Coordinator in 2016 and established a Regional Post Traumatic Stress Management Team. He established the Department’s first Chaplain Program.
He has held the position of Interim Police Chief on five (5) separate occasions during his tenure as the second in command of the Department. In October of 2019 he was promoted to the Rank of Chief of Police. Chief Sanborn holds an Associate’s Degree in Law Enforcement Technology from Southern Maine Community College, formerly S.M.V.T.I. He holds an Executive Certificate from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. He is a certified ALICE instructor. He has successfully completed over 3,400 hours of professional law enforcement training in various areas to include police administration, police supervision, major case management, investigations, methods of instruction and field training. He also currently holds professional memberships with the Maine Chiefs of Police Association, New England Chiefs of Police Association and International Chiefs of Police Association.