SCARBOROUGH — Last week the Scarborough Police Department announced the passing of the retired Marine Resource Officer David Corbeau. 

Corbeau passed away on Feb. 21 at the age of 61, with his family by his side, after two months of battling a recovery from heart surgery. 

Corbeau’s first foray into the working world after graduating high school was a job with S.D. Warren, following in his father’s footsteps.  

In 1979, he began his career with the Scarborough Police as a reserve police officer. During his time with the department, he showed true leadership abilities and was promoted to reserve sergeant in 1984, according to Scarborough Police. In this position he helped train and supervise new reserve officers. 

Corbeau was hired as the full time Scarborough Harbor Master and Marine Resource Officer in 1996. He remained in that position until he retired in 2015. Through this position, he worked closely with the commercial fisherman and maintained a positive relationship with the fisherman in the community, according to police.  

In the course of his job, Corbeau saved the lives of several people

He found himself in the right place at the right time in August of 2015. Corbeau rescued four kayakers whose boats had capsized against the powerful river current. He had been taking water samples from his boat on the Nonesuch River when he noticed two kayakers who were struggling against the current and being sucked toward a railroad trestle. One of the kayakers overturned and got pinned against a piling. Corbeau positioned his boat against the pilings and pulled both people to his boat. He then discovered two more kayakers whose boats had been pinned against the pilings, he pushed the kayakers away from the trestle with a long pole and they continued their trip upriver. All the kayakers made it to safety and were not injured. 

Before that, Corbeau was responsible for saving the life of a lobsterman. While working on the Nonesuch River in April of 2000, he was putting up channel markets when he noticed that a lobsterman had been entangled in his gear. The lobsterman had been suspended under the water and was unable to make it to the surface. Corbeau called for backup and rushed his boat over to help. He was able to free the lobsterman and tow him and his boat to shore, saving that man’s life..  

In addition to his work as a marine resource officer, in 1999, Corbeau started Prime Cut Landscaping, creating a career path for his sons. Both sons Matthew and Michael continue to be a part of the business and continue to help the Scarborough community.  

In a statement made by the Scarborough Police Department, Corbeau’s heroic actions were a strong representation of who he was but his day-to-day interactions with others in the community showed a true representation of himself.  

“Dave treated everyone he met with respect and dignity,” the SPD said in a statement. “It didn’t matter if you were a local fisherman, a tourist on vacation enjoying the beach, or a pleasure boater in the Scarborough River; Dave was always there with a big smile and to lend a hand. As a well-known police officer in the community, Dave represented the Scarborough Police Department with the utmost professionalism and was a mentor to many officers, imparting upon them the core values depicted in our mission statement: Respect, Integrity, Accountability, Honesty, Fairness, and Empathy. We will miss Dave’s devilish smile, his giggle, his kindness and compassion for all, and most importantly, his friendship. Rest easy our dear friend, we have the watch from here.” 

Many people in the community have expressed the impact Corbeau has left on them or their business. Ken’s Place Seafood Restaurant on Pine Point Road in Scarborough made a comment on its Facebook page stating how deeply saddened staff were to hear of his passing. They expressed how Corbeau would always lend a helping hand when needed. He enjoyed spending his time at Bayley’s Campground with his wife, where he also worked as a security officer. Many times Corbeau could be found enjoying an ice cream at the Dairy Corner or at the arcade with his grandson.  

A small private Celebration of Life in Florida will be held before heading back to Maine for a private family celebration. On June 11 there will be a public Celebration of Life held at Bayley’s Campground located at 275 Pine Point Road in Scarborough.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked those to donate to the Waddles for a Cause which is a nonprofit that was organized for Dave’s grandson Jackson who won his battle against childhood cancer and supports Maine families facing childhood cancer at http://www.waddlesforacause.com. The cause was near and dear to Dave.

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