Holly MatkinLewiston, ME – Lewiston Police Officer Nicholas Meserve was found dead at his residence on Friday evening.
The cause of his death has not been determined, but there were no signs of violence at the off-duty officer’s home, Lewiston Police Lieutenant David St. Pierre said in a press release on Saturday.
The Maine State Police is handling the ongoing investigation, Lt. St. Pierre said.
Officer Meserve, 33, joined the Lewiston Police Department in 2009, after working as a corrections officer at the Adroscoggin County Jail, the Sun Journal reported.
“We would like to express our sincere condolences to Officer Meserve’s family, friends and colleagues alike during this difficult time,” Lt. St. Pierre said in the release.
“Many of us are mourning at this time, including family, friends, and members of the police department,” he told WCHS. “It’s tough on all of us. He was very involved in the community.”
Special Olympics competitor Jennifer Meserve, who is not related to the late officer, said she first met him during the summer games.
“He was an amazing officer and was an amazing soul to special needs kids with disabilities,” she told the Sun Journal. “He always made me smile. He shook my hand and handed me a medal. He touched my life immensely.”
Officer Meserve especially loved volunteering his time with Camp Postcard, which he called his “favorite week of the year,” according to a 2018 interview with the Sun Journal.
The annual program invites fifth- and sixth-graders throughout the state to come spend a week with law enforcement officers, and helps to forge positive relationships between them.
“As a cop you get burnt out,” Officer Meserve told the paper before Camp Postcard in 2018, “and every year I go, I leave refreshed because you hear some of these kids’ stories when they start to warm up and confide in you – it’s heart wrenching what they’ve been through, so it reminds me of why I do it.”
His ex-wife, Ashley, said she has known Officer Meserve since she was 14 years old.
“He loved his job, loved helping people, loved making a difference in kids’ lives,” she explained.
Ashley said that their nine-year-old daughter, Skylar, “was his world,” the Sun Journal reported.
“They always had fights about who loved each other more,” she recalled. “That’s what he lived for.”
“My dad was the best dad in the whole universe. He would do anything for me,” Skylar said, according to the Sun Journal.
“We were always the best ones at daddy and daughter dances,” the little girl added. “He taught me a lot of new things about his job. He told me what to do if someone attacks me. He made all my dreams come true.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Lewiston Police Officer Nicholas Meserve, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.
Rest easy, hero. We’ll hold the line from here.