Lt. J. Paul Vance, who served as the spokesman for the Connecticut State Police for over 15 years and served the department for over 42 years, will retire on April 1.
Vance served as the commanding officer for the State Police Public Information Unit for 16 years and became a nationally recognized face during the tragedy at Sandy Hook.
Vance began his career with state police on July 29, 1974. He was first assigned to Troop L in Litchfield then later assigned to the State Police Detective Division. He later served as an instructor at the State Police Academy in Meriden.
Vance also worked with the first state police aviation unit. The helicopters were involved in police operations and were also used for emergency transports of hospital patients.
The lieutenant was assigned to patrol at Troop I in Bethany and later as the Town of Prospect Resident State Trooper.
In 1998 Vance was promoted to sergeant and returned to Troop L in Litchfield as a supervisor. From there he was assigned to the Public Information Office, where he became the face of Connecticut state police for 16 years, being promoted to master sergeant and lieutenant during that time. He was regularly seen and heard from for severe weather events, community events, criminal investigations, and tragedies like the Sandy Hook school massacre and Cheshire home invasion.
In an interview in 2015 Vance said his job description as public information officer changed drastically over the years with the advent of social media and the news cycle becoming a 24/7 system.
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In 2015 Vance was reassigned to the State Police Traffic Services as the Department Traffic Coordinator.
Vance said he was proud of the time he served as a member of the Connecticut State Police and also proud of the work he’s done with many local departments, state agencies and federal law enforcement agencies.
The lieutenant filed the paperwork for his retirement on Feb. 24 and said he plans to spend more time with his wife and family.
