CODE 9- Officer Needs Assistance

Officer Linda Barker, a 37- year veteran with the South Portland, Maine police force has fought hard for the people in our community for almost four decades. Now, she is in the fight of her life. 

Battling cancer now for the third time, Linda is now fighting a completely unrelated aggressive form of Leukemia. She recently spent a month at the Dana Farber Center in Boston where she received a bone marrow transplant. Linda’s donor was a 30-year old man from Brazil. Linda’s husband Reed, a retired South Portland Police Detective has been out on medical leave to be with her. She is doing well but she needs your help, support and prayers now more than ever.

Linda is one of the most caring and dedicated officers we have come to know. In 1981, she started her career in patrol and criminal investigations. For the past three decades, the bulk of Linda's efforts have involved community policing and working with our community's youth.  She has served as a School Resource Officer in both Mahoney and Memorial Middle Schools; as well as a Campus Resource Officer at Southern Maine Community College (SMCC). Linda's efforts to help our youth have been numerous. She has been an integral part of the South Portland Christmas Toy Drive each year where partnerships with the schools and local businesses have provided toys, boots and warm coats to more than 200 children from our community who are in need and struggling. Her current assignment is in the Community Response Unit (CRU), where she has liaised with the city's elementary schools, mentoring some students through their grade and high school years. She founded the departments DARE program and her involvement in the Student Internship and Volunteer in Police Service (VIPS) program, The National Night Out, Coffee with a Cop, Smokeless Saturday, Junior Police Academy Camp, CPPC and Special Olympic benefit events are just a sampling of the wonderful things she has done to help others.  Linda has also served as an Adjunct Professor in the Criminal Justice programs for both St. Joseph's College of Maine and SMCC.

Linda has been out on medical leave since February 2018.  Her attitude, spirit and resilience are remarkable and she is on the road to recovery.  Linda is a fighter. The funds raised will be used to help offset medical expenses and other expenses while out of work. We ask that you help Linda and her family and give back to a wonderful person who has made her life’s work helping others.  Linda's daughter Valerie Barker is helping her by overseeing the funds.