After Years in Search and Rescue, Trooper Takes on New Role in Old Lyme

OLD LYME – With a military record and 18 years in law enforcement, including work with a search-and-rescue dog, Garrett Boehm is the new resident state trooper in town.

Boehm, of Old Lyme, took over the position on Oct. 1. 

Derek McGregor, who had been in the position since last December, transferred to a special unit and returned to his previous role as a detective, said Old Lyme Police Department Officer Stephen Hackett. 

Boehm has been with the Connecticut State Police since 2013, he said. Prior to that he was a town police officer in Montville, where he started in 2008 at age 22.

“I realized early on that law enforcement was going to be something I was interested in,” he said.

Boehm, who grew up in Connecticut, joined the U.S. Coast Guard out of high school. He is still in the Coast Guard Reserve. 

After graduating from the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey, Boehm served in Boston. From there he went to St. Petersburg, Florida, and ultimately returned to Cape May, where he was stationed with a fort security unit.

When his deployment in Cape May ended, he started applying to police departments and was hired in Montville.

Adventures with a K-9

After several years in Montville, Boehm moved on to a state police K-9 unit, where he worked with a search and rescue K-9 named Yorik. Boehm and Yorik worked together for about eight years on a team with seven or eight other K-9s, he said.

They conducted large-scale missing persons searches and woodlands searches, and worked at crime scenes. They could even do underwater searches with the dogs. 

The majority of the work involved missing persons, according to Boehm.

The unit responded to several calls looking for individuals “that drastically needed help,” Boehm said. They included patients with dementia who were in the woods for several days in cold temperatures.

“Yorik had three lifesaving awards for locating individuals in the woods pretty much single-handedly,” Boehm said. “He did a great job. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

The trooper referred to his time with the K-9 search and rescue unit as the most rewarding part of his career. Yorik retired in May and is living the good life with Boehm’s family. 

“All things come to an end,” Boehm said. “I have a new chapter here in Old Lyme and I’m looking forward to that.”

Community Connections

With two children in Old Lyme schools, Boehm said he’s attached to the town.

“It was important to me to be a part of the community I live in,” he said.

Boehm enjoys law enforcement because the work is different every day and doesn’t leave him bound to a desk, he said, adding that there are good and bad days.

The resident state trooper supervises five certified police officers. He said the department is looking to add one or two more officers in the near future.

As he settles into the role, Boehm said officers are preparing for Halloween by checking street lights to make sure they’re operational and up to date for trick-or-treaters.

Local police also participate in community and school events. 

“The schools in Old Lyme are extremely important to us,” Boehm said.

First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker said the town is excited to have the local resident on board as resident state trooper.

“I think it’s been an exciting transition. He’s very communicative and I would say that we’re doing great,” she said. 

The Roads and Public Safety Committee plans to invite Boehm to a meeting to let him know what they’ve accomplished to date and what they are working on for the year ahead, Shoemaker said, noting that he is available to any commission.

The committee is charged with making recommendations to the Board of Selectmen about how road safety can be improved in town.  

Hackett, an officer with the town since 2022 and vice president of the police union, said the union welcomes Boehm.

“I think he’s great,” he said. “He’s definitely a great fit for Old Lyme and he’s made it clear that he intends on continuing the positive and constructive relationship with this community.”