Maj John Merrigan, who joined the Vermont State Police more than 22 years ago, is retiring later this month following a distinguished career that included service as a road trooper, undercover narcotics investigator and commander of one of the agency’s three divisions.
Since early 2018, Merrigan has led the Field Force Division, which encompasses all Vermont State Police uniformed troopers, corporals, sergeants and lieutenants at the barracks level.
A native of Brattleboro, Merrigan said his plan growing up was to join the Vermont State Police.
“I wanted to be a trooper, I wanted to have an opportunity to do some of the special teams that the state police had, and really, the big push to come to the state police was so I could join the Drug Task Force. That was my big desire as a young man,” he said.
Following service in the U.S. Marine Corps and a first job in law enforcement at the Wilmington Police Department, Merrigan joined the Vermont State Police in 1996. He initially was assigned to the Rockingham Barracks as a road trooper before transferring into the Narcotics Investigation Unit in 1999 — the assignment that drew him to the state police in the first place.
“I wanted to do investigative work that wasn’t conventional,” Merrigan said. “I wanted to do undercover work. I felt like it would be — and it was — rewarding to work in an atmosphere where you identify an organization or a group of individuals working together to move illegal drugs, and to be part of disrupting that. I was lucky; I got to be a part of that for a long, long time.”
Merrigan would spend the next 17 years working in the drug unit in various capacities, from undercover investigator to supervisor to unit commander. He also served as a member of the state police Scuba Team for three years, and on the Tactical Services unit for more than four years.
He was promoted to detective sergeant in 2004, then to lieutenant in 2014, and again to captain in late 2015 as commander of the state police’s Special Investigations Unit, which oversees the drug unit along with other specialized teams including the Vermont Intelligence Center and the Homeland Security Unit. A promotion to major and Field Force commander followed just over two years later, in February 2018.
“John Merrigan represents the very best of what it means to serve the people of Vermont,” Public Safety Commissioner Thomas D. Anderson said. “Having worked closely with John when I was a federal prosecutor and now as commissioner, I have seen firsthand that he embodies all that it means to be a Vermont State Trooper: courage, honor and integrity. He has always led by example. Vermont is a better, safer place thanks to his exemplary career. We will miss John and wish him nothing but the best in retirement.”
“I have known and worked with John since his days in the field,” said Vermont State Police Director Col. Matthew T. Birmingham, who served with Merrigan during his time as an undercover drug investigator. “He excelled in that role, helping to modernize and better organize the way the state police plan, coordinate and execute our sensitive and critically important undercover operations.”
“Since then,” Birmingham added, “John has been a friend and trusted partner. He has earned respect throughout the field. He has stepped up and served with distinction in any and every role we have asked him to take on. I extend my thanks to him for all he’s done. We’ll miss him and wish him all the best in his next chapter.”
Merrigan said what he will remember most from his years with the Vermont State Police includes time spent conducting and leading investigations in the field; the positive impact he had on people’s lives; and the work he did as Field Force commander to unify the state police’s 10 barracks and improve communication across all ranks.
“One of the things I’m most grateful for was that I spent so much time operational and actively involved in drug investigations,” Merrigan said. “It’s rare to have a specific mission and a really narrow focus in law enforcement. When you have that kind of narrow, pro-active focus, that really frees you up to do that one thing.”
He continued: “The best thing about it, when I look back, it’s not the cases, it’s not the investigations — it’s the time I spent with the people while we were doing those things, whether it was 10 hours in a car doing surveillance, or prepping to go undercover, or any of the million things that you do when you’re doing that type of investigative work.”
Merrigan, 50, said his initial plans for retirement include spending more time with his wife, Pamela, and his three adult children, Ashley, Michael and Sarah. He’s also aiming to fulfill another lifelong dream: learning to surf. And after that?
“The future is wide open,” he said.
Maj. Merrigan’s last day on duty is Friday, April 26, 2019. Maj. James Whitcomb, who was promoted from captain earlier this year, then will assume sole command of the Field Force Division.
Photo: Maj. John Merrigan, commander of the Vermont State Police Field Force Division, speaks to troopers at the St. Albans Barracks during an inspection in spring 2018. Merrigan is retiring effective Friday, April 26, 2019, following more than 22 years of service to the state of Vermont.