BETHEL – Alan J. Carr, 56, of Albany Township was appointed new police chief Thursday afternoon.

The Board of Selectmen approved Town Manager Scott Cole’s appointment.

Carr succeeds Darren M. Tripp, who was fired by Cole Feb. 12. Selectmen upheld the firing, 3-2, on March 11.

Pending future resolution of a lawsuit brought against the town and Cole by Tripp, Carr’s appointment was made on an interim basis.

In a press release, Cole stated that Carr would be paid an annual salary of $34,185.

He will be eligible for the town’s benefit package, which is currently offered to all full-time employees.

Carr, who has more than 31 years of law enforcement experience in Maine, including 25 years of service with the Maine State Police, said it was Bethel’s small town atmosphere that induced him to apply for the job.

“I like the interaction with people in a small town,” said Carr, who intends to be a working chief.

“I want the public to be aware that I’m here for them. … I want to work with the town, not against the town,” he added.

Carr, a U.S. Navy veteran and current chief of Stoneham Rescue, heads a force of one full-time patrolman, Charles Beale, and six reserve officers.

Under Carr, the department’s new motto is: Be firm, fair and consistent.

The new chief is no stranger to the job, having served as Bethel’s interim police chief for a month last spring when Cole placed Tripp on paid administrative leave.

Carr was raised in Portland and is a graduate of Portland High School. He has served in the past year as patrol sergeant for the Mechanic Falls Police Department.

His wife is a special education teacher at Oxford Hills Middle School in Paris. The couple have twin 4-year-olds, a boy and a girl.

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