Roll of Honor
Christopher M. Gardner
Incident
Detective Sergeant Chris Gardner died as the result of complications following surgery for an injury sustained during firearms qualifications.
He injured his Achilles tendon as he ran from a position of cover to a shooting position on October 26th, 2016. He underwent surgery the following week and then returned home to recover. He returned to the hospital on November 15th, 2016, complaining of shortness of breath and passed away a short time later.
Detective Sergeant Gardner had served with the University of Maine Police Department for 27 years. He had been assigned to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency as a special agent for the last nine years of his career.
Survivors
He was survived by his parents, brother, and two sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-ME-9CD25513- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
27 years. You could have gone home.
Detective Sergeant Gardner gave the University of Maine Police Department 27 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Orono community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Sergeant Gardner.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Detective Sergeant Christopher M. Gardner is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In ME, 41 of 102 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 40.2% of this state's fallen. That is 9.2 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At University of Maine Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Christopher M. Gardner's cause is highlighted.
How Christopher M. Gardner Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Christopher M. Gardner is highlighted in Nov.
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from University of Maine Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
