AUGUSTA — A Biddeford Police officer has been appointed the state’s newest domestic violence investigator by Attorney General Janet T. Mills.
 
Patrol Officer Shara “Mike” Guzelian of the Biddeford Police Department was sworn into the role by Mills on June 13. As the highest ranking law enforcement official in the state, it’s one of the duties of the attorney general’s duties is to swear in domestic violence investigators.
 
Guzelian, of Stoughton, Massachusetts, joined the BPD in March 2015. A graduate of the Georgia Police Academy in Forsyth, Georgia, he served with the Macon Police before marrying and moving to Florida, where his wife, a U.S. Air Force Captain, was transferred to the Tyndall Air Force Base.
 
There, Guzelian joined the Mexico Beach, Florida Police Department. After his wife completed her military commitment, the two settled in southern Maine.
 
Dep. Police Chief JoAnne Fisk said Friday Guzelian’s service has been “exemplary” since he joined the force.
 
As part of his role as statewide investigator, Guzelian will now have statewide arrest and law enforcement authority. There are 28 domestic violence investigators in Maine, 20 of whom also hold commissions as attorney general detectives.
 
Commissions are granted to these officers so that they have statewide authority to monitor defendants on bail or other conditions of release that, among other things, typically require they have no direct or indirect contact with the victims of their alleged conduct.
 
The statewide initiative has been in place through the Attorney General’s Office for more than 10 years and has worked well to reduce bail violations and further domestic violence, according to a post on the office’s Facebook page.
 
In that post, the AG’s office extended its congratulations to Guzelian.
 
“Thank you for your dedicated service,” the post reads. “Keep up the good fight on behalf of domestic violence victims here in the great State of Maine.”

Biddeford Police Chief Roger Beaupre also praised Guzelian’s appointment Friday.

“It’s another step in our continuing efforts against domestic violence,” he said.

 
— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or abennett@journaltribune.com.

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