State Police Sign at Troop C Fixed, Dedicated To Fallen Trooper

TOLLAND, CT — The historic sign at the state police Troop C barracks is operational again, thanks to a Tolland group that fixed it and paved the way to have it dedicated to a fallen trooper.

In May of this year, members of the Tolland Cares Community Group asked if they could refurbish the Troop C neon sign in memory of Trooper First Class Kevin Miller. Miller was killed in a highway crash in March while on duty.

Members of Tolland Cares orgaized the efforts for new electrical work and a new base — all with donated time and funds, state police said. It was dedicated by Tolland Cares and the Miller family along with state police officials on Monday.

It marks the first time in more than 20 years the sign has been illuminated.

Troop C dates back to 1927 and it was originally located in Stafford. Shortly after World War II, Connecticut acquired several illuminated neon signs to mark some state police barracks. Over the years many signs have been damaged, misplaced or, in some instances, discarded, officials said. There are only four barracks out of the 11 in the state that still have these neon signs — Troop D in Danielson, Troop B in North Canaan, Troop G in Bridgeport and Troop C in Tolland.

In 1995, the old Troop C headquarters were relocated from Stafford to the present location in Tolland and during the move, the neon sign was damaged and would no longer light up, state police said.

"These signs are a significant piece of state police history and the fact that the Troop C sign has been refurbished to its original condition gives the Troopers that work out of this barracks a great sense of pride and it is, in fact, a morale booster," state police said in a statement released Tuesday.

Traditionally any new trooper trainee assigned to Troop C has a picture taken in front of the sign and the images are displayed in the Troop C sergeant's office.

Tolland Cares is a group founded by Jon Crickmore and George Laws in December 2017 in response to a house fire in Tolland. The group is comprised of Tolland residents. Tolland Cares, along with Peter Rossi, who was the original painter of the Troop C sign, and T.J. Ryan, have refurbished the neon sign at Troop C to its original state in memory of Miller.

Photo Credit: CSP

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