Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy decided Friday that a state police trooper who was caught driving drunk on the Maine Turnpike in December must avoid any misconduct for three years or risk losing his right to enforce the law.

The board of trustees voted to approve a consent decree for Robin Parker, 46, of Sanford, who pleaded guilty last month to driving drunk on Dec. 18 in Gray. The agreement requires that Parker see a counselor until the counselor agrees that is no longer necessary.

A motorist called 911 at 8 that night to report that a white pickup truck was swerving from side to side in the turnpike’s northbound lanes. The pickup almost hit a tractor-trailer and a bridge abutment before Parker was pulled over, according to a police report.

The drunken-driving conviction could have cost Parker — a 17-year veteran of the Maine State Police — his law enforcement certification. However, consent agreements have been a standard sanction in similar cases, said members of the board, which issues, and can revoke, the certification that officers need in Maine.

“It puts the person on notice that there is absolutely no leeway allowed for any untoward behavior,” said Linda Smithers, a citizen member of the board and the chair of its complaint committee.

Parker’s punishment went beyond the board’s action and the $500 fine and 90-day suspension of his driver’s license.

He was a sergeant who supervised cadres at the Criminal Justice Academy, who help cadets put their training into real-world use. Parker was demoted and removed from his position at the academy and is ineligible for promotion for five years.

Col. Robert Williams, chief of the state police, suspended Parker for 60 days without pay or benefits, saying at the time that Parker’s behavior could have had tragic consequences.

Police reports on the case describe a severely intoxicated Parker, who was found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.14 percent. The legal limit to drive is 0.08 percent.

The report said the person who made the 911 call “saw it leave the travel lanes and kick up a cloud of dust as it almost struck a concrete bridge support structure,” said Trooper Duane Doughty’s report. The driver also saw the pickup almost sideswipe a Country Kitchen tractor-trailer.

The witness told police he was very upset because he had his 2-year-old child in the car with him.

Doughty caught up with the pickup at mile 61 and saw the truck drift from the right edge of the travel lane, across the center line, and back, then straddle the center line. He pulled the truck over at mile 63.

“He produced his work identification and I recognized him as Robin Parker,” the report said. “He subsequently produced his driver’s license at a later point in the investigation.”

Parker admitted that he had been drinking and said he was going to the academy in Vassalboro. Doughty reported that he saw an open carton of Bud Light beer in the extra cab area on the right side, and an empty can between the driver’s seat and the door.

By that point, Sgt. James Urquhart and Trooper Lance McCleish had arrived.

“Sgt. Urquhart instructed me to proceed with the stop and investigation as I normally would,” Doughty said in his report.

Parker told Doughty that he had been drinking in York — 57 miles to the south — but had not had anything to drink for the past hour and a half. Parker failed a field sobriety test, was unable to balance well on one foot or take several steps heel-to-toe while simultaneously counting out loud.

Parker was taken to the state police barracks in Gray at 8:30 p.m. while McCleish took Parker’s gun from the center console of the truck and then drove the truck to a commuter lot, where it was left.

The Intoxilyzer at the barracks had been in a van in the cold and had to be warmed up, so the blood-alcohol test could not be done for about an hour. When Parker was tested, his blood alcohol content was 0.14 percent.

He was eventually given a ride home.

The report said Parker was cooperative and apologetic throughout the incident.

Parker had a good reputation among his peers. He had served two tours of duty in Iraq with the Marines before joining the state police in 1994 and had been selected as a cadre supervisor because he was a role model for young cadets.

In the days after he was charged, Parker issued an apology to fellow troopers, taking responsibility for his actions and saying the troopers who charged him performed appropriately.

Parker, who had an unblemished record before the incident, is now serving his 60-day suspension and will be given a desk job for 30 days until his license is restored. He will then resume his patrols.