AUGUSTA — Bureau Chief Christian Behr, described by his co-workers as the “quintessential professional,” retired Tuesday after 25 years with the Augusta Police Department.

“He is constantly looking for ways to improve himself, along with the people around him, and the Augusta Police Department has reaped the rewards of his efforts over the years,” Police Chief Jared Mills said.

Behr, 52, said he made the decision to retire a few months ago to pursue a new opportunity within law enforcement.

“I know the last 25 years have been very good at the city of Augusta,” he said.  “I thought that for the next seven or eight years, I could do something different — or different kind of police or investigative work.”
Behr said he was taking a position as a domestic violence investigator at the Kennebec County District Attorney’s Office. He said his existing relationships with city police and the county sheriff’s office will help him in that new position.

Maeghan Maloney, the district attorney in Kennebec and Somerset counties, described hiring Behr as “hitting the jackpot.” She said his existing relationships and work ethic would be assets to her office.

“It makes all the difference in our ability to be effective,” Maloney said.

Behr started his career in law enforcement as a reserve deputy in Androscoggin County and as a reserve officer at the Hallowell Police Department. He said he was persuaded by Augusta officers in 1995 to apply for a position with their department.

“A lot of people competed for those jobs in the early part of the 1990s,” Behr said. “I got hired in April 1995, and I was very grateful for that chance.
After being hired, Behr said, he soon learned the biggest difference from being a deputy and working in Hallowell was the number of shoplifting and disturbance calls in Augusta.

He said he arrested 14 people in 14 days after senior officers told him they were going to get him “as many arrests as possible.”

Mills said Behr, who retired from the National Guard as a first sergeant in 2012, took the department’s “social media presence to another level,” and collected important pieces of the department’s history in a museum.

Mills said send-offs were planned for Behr, but had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Those gathering will be recscheduled, according to Mills.

“For now, I would simply like to say ‘thank you’ for your service to our community and good luck in your next career,” Mills said in the statement.

Sgt. Jesse Brann has been named to succeed Behr as bureau chief.

“I have no doubt that he is prepared,” Behr said. “Of course, like I did, he’ll put his own personality on the job.”

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