HOWLAND, Maine — Who says there’s never a policeman around when you need one?

The top four officers in the Maine State Police took some time Thursday afternoon to school two stranded motorists in basic automotive repairs.





The chief of the Maine State Police, Robert Williams, was returning to Augusta with Deputy Chief Lt. Col. Raymond Bessette, Maj. Gary Wright and Maj. Chris Grotton when they spotted a car in the southbound breakdown lane by mile marker 217 on Interstate 95 near Howland, according to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The young couple had pulled over moments earlier after their car’s front tire had a blowout, McCausland said late Thursday afternoon.

“Typical of many in that generation, they had no idea how to change a tire,” McCausland said. “The top four personnel in the Maine State Police happened to be driving by and stopped to assist them [and] gave them a lesson in replacing the tire with a spare and getting them on their way.”

The names or hometowns of the man and woman with the flat tire were not available.

The officers were returning to the Maine State Police headquarters in Augusta after attending a ceremony for Jeffrey Clark, who was promoted to the rank of detective on Thursday and is a member of the major crimes unit in Aroostook County.