Trooper Michelle Archer. Watch interview HERE and rescue HERE. Courtesy VSP
Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Police Trooper Michelle Archer has been selected as one of four finalists across the United States and Canada for the International Association of Chiefs of Police/Motorola Solutions Trooper of the Year Award.
The prestigious award “recognizes four state troopers and provincial police officers who have demonstrated bravery, courage, leadership, and professionalism in the previous year,” according to the IACP.
Trooper Archer was nominated by Vermont State Police Director Col. Matthew T. Birmingham following her lifesaving rescue in December of an 8-year-old girl who had fallen through thin ice into a pond in Cambridge.
“I can think of no one who is more deserving of this honor than Trooper Archer,” Col. Birmingham said. “At great risk to her personal safety, she swam through near-freezing water, reached the drowning girl and pulled her to shore. Without Trooper Archer’s selfless conduct, the outcome could have been tragic.”
Col. Birmingham noted that Trooper Archer does not consider herself a hero and has kept her focus on the girl, who has since made a full recovery.
“We can say what Trooper Archer would never say about herself: She is absolutely a hero,” Col. Birmingham said.
Finalists for the IACP / Motorola Solutions Trooper of the Year Award are chosen from a large pool of nominees by vote among members of the IACP’s State and Provincial Police Division. Each finalist represents one of the division’s four regions. At a banquet in March 14 in San Antonio, Texas, one of the four finalists will be named the overall IACP Motorola Solutions Trooper of the Year.
“Trooper Archer’s selection as a finalist for Trooper of the Year is a well-deserved honor. I am extremely proud of her for demonstrating such incredible bravery in saving the life of this young girl,” Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said. “The actions of Trooper Archer, and those of Trooper Keith Cote, who arrived moments later to assist in the rescue, reflect the best traditions of the Vermont State Police and its core values of courage, honor and integrity.”
A video interview with Troopers Archer and Cote about the rescue is available at this link. Footage of the incident from Trooper Archer’s body-worn camera also can be downloaded from VSP’s website.
Trooper Archer joined the Vermont State Police in January 2018. Following her graduation from the Vermont Police Academy that July, she was assigned as a trooper to the Williston Barracks, which is responsible for patrols throughout Chittenden and Lamoille counties. She has spent the majority of her career at Williston with the exception of a two-month special assignment at the Derby Barracks in northeastern Vermont in 2021. In addition to her patrol duties, Trooper Archer is a member of the Vermont State Police Search and Rescue Team and serves as a Field Training Officer.
Source: WATERBURY, Vermont (Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024) — Vermont State Police
