‘IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING’

Former Rockport Police Chief Perley Morrison Sprague to be recognized on National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

Mon, 01/20/2020 - 7:30pm

    ROCKPORT — Former Rockport Police Chief Perley Morrison Sprague has been approved for inclusion in the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., an honor that comes over two decades following his death in 1996.

    The memorial is the nation’s monument for law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.

    Camden-Rockport Police Chief Randy Gagne, who spearheaded the process to honor Sprague, made the announcement at the Rockport Select Board meeting Jan. 13.

    “It’s been a long time coming,” Gagne said, before he shared portions of his submission letter to the Memorial Fund.

    Organizers of the fund built the memorial in 1991 and raise money to maintain it.

    Sprague became police chief in Rockport in 1996 and died on Nov. 15 of that year at the age of 48 while conducting physical testing with a potential officer, Joel Neal, who is now a detective sergeant at the Rockland Police Department.

    Gagne said Sprague came to Rockport with new ideas and visions for hiring and training. Sprague implemented a mandatory physical assessment testing for officers and potential officer candidates.

    On Nov. 15, 1996, while conducting a physical test with former Camden Police Chief Terry Burgess and potential employee Neal, Sprague ran the last lap, in his full uniform, to show his support. As Neal approached the finish line, Sprague suffered a major cardiac event and later died at the hospital.

    Retired Rockport Police Chief Mark Kelley, who was then serving as captain in the department with Sprague, succeeded him as police chief in 1995.

    Gagne said that Sprague’s death was a major loss to the Rockport community.

    He credited both Kelley and current Rockport Police Chief Administrative Assistant Craig Cooley for their attempts to have Sprague’s name included on the Maine Officers Memorial, but according to the state’s criteria, Sprague does not qualify.

    “The Maine criteria does not recognize the type of cardiac event which caused Chief Sprague’s death and the national memorial does,” Gagne said.

    During his research on the state memorial, Gagne discovered that Sprague’s name had never been submitted the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C.

    Gagne spoke with Jill Sprague, widow of the former chief, who gave her “blessing” for Gagne to pursue the national recognition.

    At the select board meeting, Gagne also shared parts of his letter sent to the memorial about his memories of Sprague, while he was a child and a member of the “Boys Brigade,” a Christian Youth Group at the Chestnut Street Baptist Church in Camden.

    Sprague attended the weekly youth group meetings, often arriving in uniform when he was a Marine Patrol Officer.

    “While attending this youth group, I met a man who would become a mentor, friend and colleague,” Gagne said.

    “His time spent with, and commitment to this group, made a lasting impression on a young boy who would one day also become a career police officer,” Gagne added.

    According to Sprague’s obituary, he served in the Coast Guard in Vietnam, was a member of the Portland Police Department, and worked at the Maine Department of Marine Resources, retiring after 21 years as Chief of the Bureau of the Marine Patrol. He was security manager at MBNA in Orono for two years, just before he arrived in Rockport in 1995.

    He was active in the community as a member of the American Legion and the Lodge of Masons, both in Camden.

    Sprague’s name will be formally dedicated on May 13 at the 32nd Annual Candlelight Vigil during National Police Week in Washington, D.C.

    Sarah Shepherd can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com