PARIS – Oxford County Deputy Cpl. Dane Tripp will be spending the next few months within the halls of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy as he helps train future police officers.

Tripp, a Poland resident, is one of five “cadres,” or officers who will help in the training of a group of 33 new cadets. Academy Director John B. Rogers said Tripp’s work experience, physical condition and teaching abilities all made him a great fit for the job.

“He was a quite a catch, in my eye,” he said.

Tripp applied for the position, Rogers said. Cadres are chosen after oral exams and physical fitness tests.

In each of its sessions, the academy tries to put together a group of cadres representing municipal, county and state law enforcement departments across Maine, Rogers said. They serve as order-barking style supervisors, teachers and mentors during the cadets’ training.

Oxford County Sheriff Skipp Herrick said Tripp left Jan. 10 to attend two weeks of training before serving as a cadre. He will be at the academy through May 29.

Herrick already has assigned part-time patrol deputy Josh Wyman to a temporary full-time position in order to fill in for Tripp. He said the Maine Criminal Justice Academy will pay up to $12,000 for Tripp’s temporary replacement.

Herrick said Tripp will make an outstanding cadre.

The corporal is 59 years old, he said, “and is probably one of the best physically fit and mentally equipped law enforcement officers in the state of Maine.”