When you lose a dear colleague and friend like Lieutenant Allen “Al” Fortin, it is hard to find the right words to encapsulate everything that he has meant to the highway safety community in Vermont. We considered Al to be an extension of the VTrans Highway Safety team, and we feel this loss deeply. Al worked very closely with us as he had most recently served as the Safe Highway Accident Reduction Program Project Director out of the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Office. In this role he oversaw law enforcement and education grants to numerous agencies. We extend our condolences to Sheriff Gamelin and the entire CCSO family.
Al’s dedication to highway safety was matched only by his kindness and generosity. He always put others first, whether it was in the line of duty or in his personal life. Al was above all else a family man and we were so lucky that he shared stories with us about his wife Anne, their three sons, and their families.
Joe Flynn, Secretary of the Agency of Transportation writes, “Al’s passing is very sudden and very sad. I know of no one who was any more dedicated over decades to Highway Safety in Vermont than Al. He will be greatly missed.” Al’s dedication was never more evident than in his work with the Vermont Highway Safety Alliance (VHSA). As one of the very first members of the organization, he was recently elected Chair after serving for years as the Treasurer of the non-profit. We send our condolences to the VHSA Board and all of the affiliated members who worked beside him. It is without a doubt that many appreciated his advocacy, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Region One and all New England State Directors have also extended their condolences – they all understand what LT. Fortin meant to us.
Most recently, Al was an incredible advocate for updating the Child Passenger Safety Law 23 V.S.A. § 1258. Al said he wanted the law updated so it could be used as an educational tool; he said the focus of the change was not for punitive actions. Al wanted the law updated so that adults could have a resource on the proper use and installation of child safety seats to protect children. It was not surprising to hear that one of his last actions was working with LT. Kevin Geno of Rutland CSD to coordinate bringing a car seat to a qualifying family in need.
As our SHSO team looked back through the years of nomination forms that we have received for our awards ceremonies, there has always been at least one nomination for Allen Fortin every single year. This theme spanned his time at the Shelburne PD and continued at CCSO. It is important to note that while LT. Fortin was a consistent award winner and nominee, he nominated deserving individuals each year for awards. He appreciated those who worked with him in both the Law Enforcement and Education fields and wanted nothing more than to recognize others.
We will always remember Al as a friend and a true champion for highway safety. His legacy will live on in the lives he touched and the work he helped guide forward.
Over his career, LT. Fortin received the following awards from the SHSO:
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Highway Safety Lifetime Achievement Award, 2022
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Ruby Rainault Occupant Protection Award, 2020
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Sgt. Mike Johnson Lifesaver Award, 2009
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Lifesaver of the Year Award, 2007
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Vermont Law Enforcement Challenge Winner, multiple years Shelburne PD
To honor his legacy, the SHSO Lifetime Achievement Award will from this point forward be known as the “LT. Allen A. Fortin Lifetime Achievement Award.”
We wanted to highlight Al’s work from past award ceremony scripts, as they are the greatest tribute coming from you, his peers’ nomination letters. The content of those scripts can be found below.
We also would like to offer you the opportunity to share an “Al story” or photo, which we can then share with Al’s family. If you have a favorite Al memory that you’re willing to contribute, please email rachel.noyes@vermont.gov and she will make sure his family receives them.
A Mass of Christian burial for Lt. Allen A. Fortin will be held at 11 a.m. Monday 2/10 at St. Jude Catholic Church on Vermont 116 in Hinesburg. Visiting hours at the church in Hinesburg will be from noon to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 8 p.m. on Sunday 2/09.
It is impossible to know just how many highway tragedies have been averted due to Lieutenant Fortin’s work.
Very Respectfully,
The VTrans SHSO Team
Allison, Evelyn, Danielle, Sue, Rachel, Rob, Bill, Kevin, and Paul
Previous award write-ups for Lt. Fortin:
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Lieutenant Allen Fortin began his law enforcement career in 1987 as the Hinesburg Town Constable. He was then hired by the Shelburne Police Department in 1989 and worked his way through the ranks with promotions to Corporal in 1991, Sergeant in 1994, and Lieutenant in 2017.
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Early in his career Al recognized the benefits of neighboring police departments working together to address their mutual traffic safety concerns. After the previous county-wide enforcement program in Chittenden County fell apart, Al pitched an idea to the Highway Safety Office for a new collaboration between the towns of Shelburne, Hinesburg, and South Burlington; this grant-funded initiative would bring together officers from these three towns who would focus on motor vehicle law enforcement with an emphasis on occupant protection and DUI enforcement. This came to be known as the Tri-Town Enforcement Grant. The Tri-Town project was so successful that it was taken county-wide, and every law enforcement agency in Chittenden County came on-board with the Town of Shelburne agreeing to be the grant holder for the county.
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In 2018 Lieutenant Fortin retired from the Shelburne Police Department, and the Chittenden County Sheriff agreed to take over responsibility for the county-wide grant program with Lieutenant Fortin at the helm wearing a new uniform. In 2020 the Chittenden County program expanded to include law enforcement agencies in Franklin County, and in 2023 the program is expanding again to include the Grand Isle and Lamoille County Sheriffs’ Departments. Using the Chittenden County model, similar teams have since been developed in Rutland, Addison, and Windham Counties, and it all started with an idea from an officer in the trenches and a small grant.
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Lieutenant Fortin is known far and wide as a tireless advocate for highway safety and his efforts have not been limited to the Chittenden County SHARP Team. He is one of only a handful of local police officers in Vermont to maintain a certification to enforce federal motor carrier safety regulations. He is a certified child passenger safety seat technician and instructor. Al conceived the idea of enlisting trucking companies to display seatbelt messages on the back of their trucks and trailers to carry the highway safety message all across the country. Al has spearheaded Vermont’s annual participation in the national seat belt enforcement campaign, including an annual Border to Border event with our partners in New York State.
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Al is continually working to come up with new, inventive ways of bringing highway safety messaging to Vermont residents and visitors. Most recently his press Conferences have included a Thanksgiving Food Drive; partnership with Jay Peak, Blood Drive to draw attention to post crash care; and expanding the Champlain Valley Fair Exp booths into multimedia events. In addition, he partnered with local movie cinemas to place highway safety messages complete with a contest in the greater Chittenden County area.
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Lt. Allen Fortin has been an advocate for Child Passenger Safety since the 1990s. He has devoted more than 20 years to helping families keep their children safe and has also assisted his fellow child passenger safety technicians. Lt. Fortin travels all over the state to meet with groups of dedicated volunteers at seat check events. In 2018, he became a CPS instructor and now provides certification classes and training. He communicates well with technicians and families and is relied heavily upon for his broad knowledge and long history with child passenger safety.
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In addition to his work in Child Passenger Safety, Lt Fortin has been instrumental in Vermont’s participation with the annual Click It or Ticket National Enforcement Mobilization since its inception in 2002. He serves as the Click It or Ticket (CIOT) team captain for the northern half of Vermont and coordinates OP enforcement activities in nine counties during the two-week campaign. Lt Fortin tirelessly advocates for increased seatbelt usage by communicating frequently with the media, always searching for some new “hook” to gain media attention and find new ways to spread the message to the motoring public about the importance of wearing seatbelts. For several years, Lt. Fortin partnered with the American Red Cross to host blood drives in conjunction with the annual CIOT campaign, linking law enforcement’s “Click It or Ticket” and “See It, Click It, Commit to It” with VTrans and trucking companies along with messages with the Red Cross like the ’ “100 Deadliest Days of Summer” message to strengthen the combined message.
We miss you, Al.
