LEWISTON — Police identified the man who was found dead in his Webster Street home Friday evening as police officer Nicholas Meserve.
Nicholas Meserve
Police Lt. David St. Pierre wrote in a news release Saturday that there was no sign of violence and that a cause of death was not yet known.
“We would like to express our sincere condolences to Officer Meserve’s family, friends and colleagues alike during this difficult time,” St. Pierre wrote.
St. Pierre wrote that Meserve, 33, had been employed with the Lewiston Police Department since 2009 and had been employed with the Androscoggin County Jail before that.
Maine State Police will be investigating the cause of death, St. Pierre wrote.
Friends and family published tributes to Meserve on Facebook that shone a light on his compassion toward others, his dedication to his work, and his love for his daughter.
“My dad was the best dad in the whole universe,” Skylar Meserve, 9, said in a message relayed by her mother. “He would do anything for me.”
“We were always the best ones at daddy and daughter dances,” she continued. “He taught me a lot of new things about his job. He told me what to do if someone attacks me. He made all my dreams come true.”
Ashley Meserve, Skylar’s mother, said that Skylar “was his world.”
“They always had fights about who loved each other more,” Ashley Meserve said. “That’s what he lived for.”
She said her ex-husband loved skateboarding and that his friends called him “Hollywood.”
“I’ve known Nick since I was 14,” Ashley Meserve said. “He loved his job, loved helping people, loved making a difference in kids’ lives.”
Aundrea Olson, Ashley Meserve’s sister, said that Nicholas Meserve “was the biggest protector of the ones that he loved, and when he loved, he loved hard.”
“I’ll never forget when I was 15 and I introduced my boyfriend at the time to him,” Olson said. “He asked the guy about a million questions and told him, ‘You better have her home by 8:59 p.m.’ I was mortified. But that’s who Nick was. Always, always looking out for his loved ones, no matter what.”
Jennifer Meserve, who competed in the 2018 Special Olympics and was handed a medal by Nicholas Meserve, said she met him through the 2018 Special Olympics Summer Games.
“He was an amazing officer and was an amazing soul to special needs kids with disabilities,” said Jennifer Meserve, who is not related to the policeman. “He always made me smile. He shook my hand and handed me a medal. He touched my life immensely.”
Gail Charpentier wrote on the Lewiston Police Department’s Facebook page that officer Meserve “was a good man, took great pride in his work serving and protecting the citizens of Lewiston, and most of all, (was) an awesome and dedicated dad.”
Keith Jalbert wrote that he had “met and spoken” with Meserve through his job and found him “always willing to listen, share knowledge and be a role model and resource for others.”
On Facebook, Erica Vaillancourt wrote that Meserve’s family “has asked for meals to be donated, as they need to focus their energies on recovering from this tragedy.”
She created a page for Meserve’s family on the website MealTrain, which allows people to contribute meals to people who need support.
“(Meserve’s) family needs to be focusing their energies on dealing with this tragedy, and this is a small way to be able to help them,” Vaillancourt wrote on her Facebook page.
Meserve volunteered with the Special Olympics and spent many years volunteering with Camp Postcard, a group that invites fifth- and sixth-graders in Maine to spend a week with law enforcement officers and other volunteers to mentor and encourage children, and to improve their perception of law enforcement.
In a 2018 Sun Journal story, Meserve described Camp Postcard as his “favorite week of the year,” and said he left every year feeling “refreshed.”
“You hear some of these kids’ stories when they start to warm up and confide in you,” Meserve said before Camp Postcard in 2018. “It’s heart-wrenching what they’ve been through, so it reminds me of why I do it.”
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