DIXFIELD – With nearly a dozen fellow emergency workers looking on, police Chief Richard Pickett pinned the new sergeant’s badge on Mark Dow on Tuesday afternoon.

Dow, a patrolman with the Dixfield Police Department for more than five years, became the department’s first sergeant in about five years.

Pickett said the last sergeant resigned about five years ago, and no one has replaced him because no one within the department had been qualified until now.

He said having to choose between two highly qualified patrolmen, Dow and officer Jeff Howe, was difficult.

“They are both capable and very competent. Both officers are outstanding. This was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make since being here,” he said.

A procedure that includes experience, training, and testing, along with a panel of professionals from the town, was used to make the final selection.

“The whole process was professional,” Pickett said. “I’m very proud that Mark Dow is a new sergeant.”

Dow has 17 years of law enforcement experience. He began his career as a corrections officer with the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, then worked for the Rumford Police Department as a part- or full-time police officer from 1993 to 2001 when he went to work for the Dixfield Police Department.

Pickett said Dow’s promotion was the first since he became chief in 1998.

Along with the promotion, Dow will receive a $1 per hour pay increase and added administrative duties so Pickett can patrol the town more often.

The four-man department provides 24-hour-per-day police coverage.