The City of Ellsworth has hired a former FBI agent and corporate security officer for the Cleveland Browns as its new Chief of Police.

Harold 'Pete' Bickmore has an extensive background in law enforcement, starting with the Scarborough Police Department, which he joined in 1980. After six years in Southern Maine, he joined the FBI as a Special Agent in 1987, and was assigned to the Newark Division. In 1995 he was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent in the Organized Crime/Drug Division in Washington D.C., and then moved with the FBI to Boston two years later.

Then in 2008, Bickmore served in Baghdad, Iraq as supervisor of the FBI's first Foreign Fighter Exploitation Team Initiative. He received the Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award and Medal from the Department of Defense. In addition, he was awarded the FBI's Medal for Meritorious Achievement in May of 2009 by the Director of the FBI for his quick, life-saving actions that saved the life of a young girl in the Boston area. At the end of his career with the FBI, BIckmore worked with the Domestic Terrorism Program and was responsible for all Domestic Terrorism Investigations throughout the U.S.

He retired from the FBI in 2013, after 26 years of service. Since then, he's worked in corporate security for the Cleveland Browns NFL football organization and Curtiss-Wright Corporation in Pennsylvania.

Born and raised in Cumberland, Bickmore always wanted to return to Maine and work as a police chief. He will join the department in Ellsworth in April, although the exact date has yet to be determined.

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