Maine State Police, Maine
End of Watch Thursday, July 9, 1964
Add to My HeroesCharles Clinton Black
Trooper Charles Black was shot and killed while responding to a bank robbery at First National Bank of Biddeford in South Berwick, Maine just before 10 a.m.
Trooper Black was off-duty that day, but was required to report to the municipal courthouse behind the bank to prosecute a traffic violation. He was in uniform when he responded to shouts from civilians on the street that the bank was being robbed.
As the two suspects ran from the bank one of them spotted Trooper Black and shot him five times. A bystander grabbed Trooper Black's service revolver and apprehended one of the suspects who had slipped and fallen behind. The other suspect was captured later that day in New Hampshire.
Both suspects were convicted of Trooper Black's murder and sentenced to life in prison. Both were convicted felons who had been released from prison - one of them only a week prior to the fatal bank robbery. Following their life sentence for Trooper Black's murder, both men were paroled in 1972.
Trooper Black was a U.S. Air Force veteran and had served with the Maine State Police for six years. He was survived by his pregnant wife, who gave birth to a son, by his two other young sons, and by his sister and brother.
The agency's annual Trooper of the Year award was named in his honor.
Bio
- Age 28
- Tour 6 years
- Badge Not available
- Military Veteran
Incident Details
- Cause Gunfire
- Weapon Handgun; .22 caliber
- Offender Paroled in 1972
Most Recent Reflection
View all 36 ReflectionsSixty Years Later: Trooper Black's family has established the Trooper Black Foundation, a 501.c.3 non-profit whose mission is to provide assistance to first responder families in crisis. Trooper Black's name has been restored to Maine's Trooper of the Year Award. In 2023, the Trooper Black Foundation's first active year (having to hibernate for 2.5 years after the lockdowns, imposed only a few weeks after acquiring its non-profit status) saw assistance to nine first responder families in four states. Public response has been phenomenal. And these are just a few of the positive actions that are taking place in his name.
Trooper Charles Clinton Black continues to serve.
Sally M. Chetwynd
Secretary, Trooper Black Foundation
July 10, 2024
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