‘Be compassionate and understanding”Retiring YCSO deputy Jason Solomon reflects on career, rural policing

ALFRED, Maine – You could hear sirens wail as a dozen or so cruisers made their way from York County Sheriff’s Office through Alfred village to Waterboro and up Route 5 to Limerick Fire Department well before you could see them.

It is the traditional way law enforcement officers mark the retirement of one of their own – the last ride, the last sign-off with Sanford Regional Communications.

On Monday, Jan. 5, Deputy Jason Solomon retired after 25 years in law enforcement, most of it with YCSO.

Over the years, he served up law and order in the small towns of York County – he lives in one of them, and this fall, will turn his hand to a new career, returning an idle apple orchard  into a productive entity, creating Solomon Family Farm LLC with his parents, Millard and Linda Solomon.

Before policing, he served four years in the U.S. Army, came home and earned his associate’s degree in criminal justice in 14 months. Solomon, now 49, worked as a reserve police officer and later a fulltime officer in Ogunquit before joining the sheriff’s office.

In a recent interview, the single dad of four and grandfather of three reflected on his years at the sheriff’s office, using traffic enforcement as an example.

“A ticket doesn’t necessarily see someone learn not to speed through a community,” said Solomon. “I’d pull people over; they thought I would be giving them  a ticket. I’d let them off with a warning and ask them to do something nice for three other people.”

Sometimes he’d get emails from those who received a warning  – like the one from a motorist who wrote “I got my meathead brother lunch.”

It’s all about community policing  in the small towns, and for Solomon it was also in the schools. He previously served as the YCSO School Resource Officer in RSU 57 and in 2013 was named the national School Resource Officer of the Year.

“The absolute highlight of my career was running  the cadet program with (Sanford Police officers) Mike Thornton and Michael Gordon,” said Solomon. “I had 30 kids in my program and Sanford had 60 and combined we’d do summer academies.”

Policing isn’t all about tickets and cadets, however. Very early in his YCSO career Solomon saved a woman who was being strangled – he was stopped at an intersection at 1 a.m. and noticed a vehicle off in the bushes. A woman had been kidnapped, he recalled, and a man was in the process of choking her. He said he ends his law enforcement career with another attempted murder charge levied in a different rural town.

Solomon is looking forward to working in the orchard, and hopes to be able to open for picking this fall. And if all goes well, there’s another thought for the orchard: Grumpy Grandpa’s hot dogs, on hiatus for the last several years, may make a comeback.

“His connection to the community is unrivaled,” said Sheriff William L. King Jr. at a retirement reception with Solomon’s fellow deputies, command staff, and family and friends. He noted the longtime deputy was a friend to those in all walks of life, from the well-to-do to those with less. “I think that is why he is so well liked,” said King. “He is nice to people who cannot not do anything for him.”

Solomon was presented with a plaque marking his service, a shadow box with mementos of his career, and retirement credentials.

The cruisers made their way to the Limerick Fire Station, where there were many to greet him – firefighters and others from various communities he’s known over the years.

“I will miss my community interaction  – people I would visit on shift, my contacts in the community… and hoping I would make a difference in someone’s life that day,” he said. “It’s been a good career.”

He had kind words for his boss, the sheriff, who hosts ceremonies recognizing the good work done by those in the patrol division and corrections divisions.

“Recognition is important,” Solomon said.

And he offered up this advice to those considering a career in policing:

“If you’re thinking about getting into law enforcement  do it for the right reasons;  be compassionate and  understanding.”