Photo / Ben Goodman
Maj. William "Bill" Ross
December 30, 2022
Decorated officer nominated to lead Maine State Police
A decorated, veteran officer has been nominated by Gov. Janet Mills to lead the Maine State Police.
Maj. William “Bill” Ross is in line to succeed Col. John Cote, who retired in September following 33 years of service to the Maine State Police. Ross' nomination will be reviewed by the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee at a date to be determined and will require confirmation by the Maine Senate.
The colonel of the state police is the highest ranking position in the agency and is charged to lead the Maine State Police.
“Major Ross is a dedicated law enforcement professional who exemplifies the Maine State Police’s values of integrity, fairness, compassion and excellence,” said Mills. “His decades of experience, from his years as a patrol officer to his years on the command staff, position him well to become the next Colonel and to lead the Maine State Police into the future as they protect and serve the people of Maine.”
Ross, a 20-year veteran of the Maine State Police, currently serves as operations major. He began his law enforcement career with the New York Police Department in 1998 and joined the Portland Police Department in 2000.
In 2010, Ross was awarded the Giles Landry Award as a detective in the Major Crimes Unit South, named after Detective Giles Landry, who was killed in the line of duty while investigating a child abuse case in Leeds in 1989.
In 2002, Ross joined MSP as a trooper in Troop A, which is responsible for patrolling York County. He was later promoted to detective and then sergeant of a crime unit covering York, Cumberland, Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties. He also served in the Maine State Police professional standards division and internal affairs before being promoted to lieutenant of Troop A in 2015.
Ross has served as a major in the operations division since 2020, overseeing the eight patrol troops, the three crime units and the commercial vehicles enforcement unit. The operations division accounts for approximately 285 of the 334 sworn state police positions.
“I am humbled to be nominated as the next colonel of the Maine State Police,” said Ross. “To be allowed to lead the largest police agency in Maine and work with so many great people is a true honor. There are many challenges that lay ahead for our agency and the law enforcement profession, and I look forward to working with our law enforcement partners, legislators and the communities we serve to keep Maine a safe place to live, work and visit.”
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