From left to right, retired Maine State Trooper Mark Nickerson, Sen. Paul Davis, Maine State Trooper Seth Allen, Maine State Trooper Tyler Harrington, Maine State Police Lt. Jackie Theriault and Sen. Scott Cyrway. Contributed photo
On Monday, December 11, Senator Paul Davis (R-Piscataquis) and Senator Scott Cyrway (R-Somerset), joined retired Trooper Mark Nickerson, Trooper Seth Allen, Trooper Tyler Harrington and Lieutenant Jackie Theriault at Brown Cemetery in Benton to visit the grave of Trooper Thomas J. Merry, a hero who died in the line of duty in July of 1980, in Palmyra.
Trooper Thomas J. Merry
Senators Davis and Cyrway, both now retired, were law enforcement officers at the time. Senator Cyrway was a classmate of Trooper Merry’s and Senator Davis was one of the first responders on the evening of the incident.
In visiting Merry, both are reminded that, even in a safe place like Maine, law enforcement can be a dangerous line of work, and that officers put their lives on the line every day to protect us, anyways.
Trooper Merry was killed on July 12, 1980, in Palmyra, when struck by a car involved in a high speed chase. Merry had parked his cruiser as part of a roadblock and was attempting to seek safe cover when struck by the fleeing car. He joined the state police in 1977.
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