Chief Robert Cormier, the former longtime head of the police department in Tilton, New Hampshire, was sworn in as Belfast’s new police chief on Wednesday at City Hall.
Cormier was unanimously confirmed to the position by the Belfast City Council at Tuesday night’s regular meeting.
“This candidate has fire in his belly and an incredible passion for community policing that will serve us well,” City Manager Erin Herbig wrote in this week’s manager’s report. “The City of Belfast is confident that Bobby Cormier will bring exceptional leadership into our police department and our community at large for years to come.”
Cormier served as police chief of the roughly 4,000-person town of Tilton for 14 years. Most recently, he has worked as the interim director of police services in Hartford, Vermont.
Before he was the chief of police in New Hampshire, he spent seven years working as a vice narcotics officer in Los Angeles’s 77th precinct, according to Foster’s Daily Democrat.
Belfast’s police chief position has been vacant since Gerry Lincoln retired in February after two years on the job. Dean Jackson has served as the interim police chief of the 7,000-person community since Lincoln’s retirement.
Herbig said that Cormier was unanimously recommended by a hiring committee that included Jackson, Fire Chief Patrick Richards, City Councilors Mary Mortier and Mike Hurley, Sgt. Dan Thompson of the Belfast Police Department, Searsport Police Chief Todd Boisvert and herself.
“[He’s] coming in with great knowledge and a skill set that will help our organization continue to grow into a modern, well-trained and professional agency that is respected in both our community and within the profession,” Herbig wrote.
