Below is the complete, unedited text of Maine State Trooper Robin Parker’s email to his colleagues after he was accused of drunken driving.
Dear Fellow Troopers,
Im not sure Im able to articulate exactly how I feel but I will try to put into words my thoughts.
Most if not all of you know by now what happened with me last Sunday evening. I was pulled over on the turnpike for suspicion of driving under the influence. I was subsequently processed and charged with that offense by Troopers within Troop G.
I want to first thank all of you for your tremendous support and prayers. I will continue to graciously accept them as I move forward in this process.
One thing I want to make perfectly clear to everyone. My decisions and choices were mine and mine alone. I have made some mistakes and Im prepared to answer for them. I appreciate the kind words expressing sadness that I will have to deal with this in the courts and within the department. But these are the consequences for MY ACTIONS. Im not saying this is not painful, because it is. Im not saying this is not going to be hard, because it will be. Im not saying Im not ashamed and embarrassed, because I am. But, what I am saying is I own this and Im prepared for the consequences.
I apologize to all of you from the SP cadets that I just graduated from the BLETP to Colonel Williams. I have embarrassed myself and tarnished not only my reputation but that of the Maine State Police. An organization I wanted to be apart of since I was a young boy. The thought of having brought discredit to the organization that I love so much is hard to bear. What I have done to my family, friends, and our State Police Family has saddened me deeply.
There is one other thing that has saddened me and that is what Im hearing around the department. I understand there are many that are very upset that I was processed by our own and perhaps not “treated differently”. Although this anger may stem from a respect and appreciation for me as a person and Trooper, they are not healthy.
Let me first say that the Troopers that dealt with me were professionals that we all strive to be. What we expect from the Cadets at the academy and teach them to be like when on the road. I could tell throughout the process that they took no pleasure in doing what they had to do. For them I want to apologize for putting them and their supervisor in that position. They showed COMPASSION, EXCELLENCE, INTEGRITY, & FAIRNESS. This is what we ask and this is what was done. Remember that I was the cause and I am responsible for my own actions.
So, If I could ask for one thing out of all of this. Please allow this to pass with no more anger and resentment. Show those involved and had to make difficult decisions that same love and compassion you have shown me.
We have a Command Staff that we all feel can lead us and a direction the State Police is going in is positive. I feel bad enough knowing what I have done. If I thought that any discourse or division within the State Police occurred because of my actions It would be difficult for me to live with.
I have no resentment towards these men and I ask that you don’t either. We don’t need this to effect morale and the camaraderie we have amongst ourselves.
I apologize for the rambling but it has been difficult to sort my thoughts and put to pen.
One last thing, Please forgive me for my actions and I hope I will have the opportunity to work with you all again and earn back your trust and respect.
You’re Brother & Fellow Trooper.
Sincerely,
Robin Parker
Making the best of a bad situation – really an honest heartfelt message, I’m glad I took the time to read it.
I feel the letter to be genuine, but the officer should be fired immediately, and suffer the full consequences of the law. If this individual keeps their job, then there is truly something wrong with the Maine State Police. This was not some type of bad choice, but a calculated decision by someone who should know better, and should be held to a higher standard. I’m thankful no one was hurt or killed, but do the right thing and fire this person NOW!
The officer deserves what ever punishment that his common practice for the offense. No More No less!
Maybe we should wait and see if he’s convicted before recommending firing him. An accusation is not automatically a guilty verdict.
Wish more in this state took the responsibility for their action that this man does.His punishment will be tougher from himself than anything the courts do to him.He should be a spokes person to our young of the bad decisions we all make and the correct way to deal with them.Hope he gets to continue following his dreams in the state police.
My sister was killed in a car driven by a drunken driver who was not honest about it at first and did not show remorse. I am sure this officer was not as intoxicated as that man, and I appreciate his honesty and owning up to it. It takes a big person to do that.
Someone taking responsibility for his own actions. Refreshing. That goes along ways toward earning back the respect he seeks. Thanks for sharing it with us.
proving the case cops are corrupt and laws are for others
you dont isue a statement like this unless you know your fellwo cops protect themsleves and do not apply the law equally= very sad=
Man, some of you people on here are simply beyond understanding.
That was one of the most decent things I have ever read, taking ownership of you own mess.
It seems to be a lost art lately.
“They are all corrupt” Wow.
Waaaaaaa-Waaaaaaaa.
Until it’s your sorry butt that needs saving, then the cops can’t do enough for you.
well lets look at this – fellow officers assign probale cause. he gets arrested. then he issues a writing saying dont be mad at the guys that arrested me but needed to do so why Because they did thier job or because he knows some feel he was above the law. for you to say that is beyond understanding is irrational and defensive. You may percieve what he wrote as decent . but would you say the same for anyone – what aboat a simple citizen? how about state pD Varoom with child sex, the maine da with child sex/
not all police are corrupt bu soem use thier positions to power over people and for fear they get away with it, and when this kind of stuff comes out it exemplifies the point
The state police have an issue with competent and honarable employees no question. Do they drug test routinely and randonly like businesses?
ps you are delusional to think cops save people = maybe soemtimes but they hurt just as much- the law are not always just – just look to the nazis and jim crowe in this country and you can find all kinds of seld righteous law men who were really perverts = continues today
Oops, hit the wrong button. certainly don’t “like” this comment. kennebasis? Are you drunk right now? This shows nothing in the way of corruption. Get out of the bottle for a bit then re-read this.
I can’t seem to find…..wait, I’ll look again…….nope, I can’t seem to find where he apologizes to those people who paid his salary. Maybe I missed it, but ……he didn’t once apologize to us, the citizens whom he swore to protect, and clearly wasn’t. Without a doubt, I feel confident that he had done this before.
I know that he is only human, but not everyone charged with OUI gets their apologies posted and printed in the Bangor Daily News, among other daily’s. What’s the deal with his appeal for the need to apologize?, he is when it comes down to it, no different than one of us.
I understood ths to be a letter to his coleagues that was shared, it was not written for the public. Who know if he provided it, or womeoe who got the letter provided it to the BDN. You concern that he did not apologize to the public in a private letter is a bit off base to me. H took ersponsibilty and appologized to his fellow officers as some of these posts will attest, it makes the State Police as a whole look bad. I am not sure if he had “need” to or not, but I believe it was the right thing to do.
his fricken defense attorney told him to write the letter and get it published. it is a show
If his lawyer didn’t write it, and he did, he sure is in the wrong line of work.
We all make mistakes in life. Pisses me off that some people forget they make mistakes too! Only reason why this guy made the paper is because he is a Law Enforcement officer! LEO’s are held to a higher standard. He made a mistake, he will pay for it. I wish him the best of luck , and thank you Trooper Parker for 17 years of service! As a citizen of Maine, I forgive you!
I have worked around many in Law Enforcement for many years. I have grown partial to local cops and at times have had some have resented the attitude of some of the state cops. Despite this, I find them to be professional in their work.
I have watched, first hand, many cops show empathy and compassion for those who they have arrested. I have heard the words directly from their mouths as they tell someone just booked for OUI that they are not passing judgement on them, but they still have a job to do. I have heard them tell the accused that they wish them well in their trial. I have heard the accused stand up in court and tell the judge that the Officers acted professionally and with understanding for their situation. Everyone makes mistakes. But not everyone owns their mistakes. I have not met him but I applaud this man for owning his decisions and behavior. I thank him for scolding those who would speak poorly of the men who were just doing their job. It happens every time someone is arrested. It’s human nature to want to believe your friends and family over the cops…even when you are one. I’m not sure this letter was intended for the public but it’s sure nice to see. Robin Parker, I don’t know you, I’m very disappointed that you made the choice to drink and drive. Thank you for being a role model even when you shouldn’t be.
This officer made a mistake, owns up to it, asks for no special treatment, apologizes to the community, and urges his fellow officers not to condemn the arresting officers for doing their job. In my book, he’s an honorable man who made a mistake. How many of us in the same situation would behave this well?
Dear Maine State Police Officer, Robin Parker
I am sorry to hear of your unfortunate disease called ALCOHOLISM, which my genes have allowed me to escape. Extreme pressure does not cause me to drink alcohol or self medicate with drugs, nicotine or other prescription medications, although I have sampled all enough to know what their effects are, and they never had much of an attraction to me. But I am morbidly obese, despite taking heart meds, insulin, anti-depressants, and another way I tend to react to pressure is to isolate, so you know I am unemployed and on disability, because it’s kind of hard to be employed and isolate.
I want to say to you, the same thing we say to our current war vets, and that is, A HEARTY, “THANKS FOR SERVING!” I have no idea what your future holds for you, but I have some idea of the stressful job you’ve had for 17 years on the Maine State Police, and I’m sure that some years, you were out in the cold on slippery highways with oncoming traffic, approaching vehicles from behind with your hand near your weapon, not knowing whether you were going to talk to an elderly granny or an escaped convict with a gun pointed right at you.
Granted. Police can quit, and they generally go home every night, which is not true of soldiers in a war, but 17 years of duty is a LOT OF STRESS, so I say, THANKS FOR SERVING, and I’m sure glad there are people like you who want that job, because a I sure don’t. LOL It’s a tough one.
Just last summer, I was in a small Maine town, sitting outside on the grass beside the library, after getting bored with a Civil War program, waiting for my friends to exit. A small runaway dog had approached me. An officer pulled up, a local cop, got out, and opened his door. It was clear to me he wasn’t sure whether he was going to catch the dog, or had an old drunken sick person on his hands, waiting to be taken in….LOL Within a few moments, the doggy ran off, and he realized that I was fine, and he groaned, and said, “It never stops!” It was a Sunday evening in a small town of 2,000 people in Maine, and this guy was exhausted, trying to figure out who had to be helped, and when, and why. I smiled and told him that he had a tough job, as he drove off after the escaped pet, with a friend of mine running down the block in pursuit of the dog….LOL
I had a problem in my community, and was contacted by a sheriff’s officer on medical leave, who had problems serious enough to cause him to take medical retirement, and it was so bad, it’s possible he might have passed on in the intervening years. He told me how, many years ago, he was responding to a crisis situation at a house, and had an terrible anxiety attack, worried that he might be shot to death that night, and never see his family again. He spent a lot of time in therapy after that, and realized he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from events in his job, over the years. He managed to stay on the job with his PTSD in a managed care mode, but his brain disease finally forced him to retire. I told him, “Thanks for serving!,” also.
I think many of the angry comments I see in the Bangor Daily News comments section, as there always are angry comments, and everybody is anonymous, as opposed to the policy of the Lewiston Sun Journal, where people are forced to use their real name and identity to comment, are people who are angry with authority, or perhaps have been treated unfairly by authority. I’m not criticizing them, and they have a right to be angry with you, and say whatever they wish. All I’m saying is there is another side of your story, a human side, and I wish you the best, and thank you for being out there on the highways all of those years, looking out for our safety. Roger Stavitz in Danforth, Maine.
Nice letter trooper Parker. Too bad your insurance company will not read it. They will be the ones to punish you the most for your mistake. Probably in the neighborhood of $10,000 or so by the time it goes off of your record. I hope your credit score is decent too, or it will cost you even more.
Everyone makes mistakes. He should be punished if he is found guilty but he should be able to keep his job. This is a lesson that will be ingrained in him and make him an even better trooper.
Don’t know this person but…Can’t help but think of all the commenters on this site who protect and cover/feel sorry for the welfare alcoholics and drug users saying its not their fault.
This trooper can admit his mistakes, knows he was wrong and I think has learned a lesson. he should be treated as veryone else for the mistake, yes. He fell down, but instead of staying down and laying blame he is responsible enough to get back up and carry on. He’s not a looser. He will not need a free ride as the poor drunks/druggys and those who feel sorry and who blame the system for their problems
Go to the courts on the day of the drug offense sentencing and you will get the same ownership!
The day before and next day in the prison they will adamantly deny the ever committed a crime!
You dont suppose he has seen a few of these actors do you?
I think the real issue here is that the thin blue line shows real honor and dignity in Maine, while in other states this sort of thing simply does not happen… Troopers and cops are NEVER tested for blood alcohol… they are allowed to walk, over and over and over.
Contrats to the State of Maine for actually holding troopers to the same standards that they hold the rest of us to.
That said…. I do believe that police should be treated more harshly than others for breaking laws, especially this sort of law. That is, in my profession, it would not matter that I drank and drove (although I do not drink). I should not lose my job for such an offense. A cop should lose his job for it. The police need to be role models and should know enough not call a cab… even if the cab costs $200. That would have been $200 well spent if the alternative is jail or loss of badge.