Trooper Roland Edgar Chevalier Jr. - Alaska State Highway Patrol - True Life Hero

Roland Edgar Chevalier Jr.
- Apr. 03, 1982 -

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Alaska State Troopers Patch

Resided:	Fairbanks AK, USA
Born:	Mar. 08, 1949
Fallen:	Apr. 03, 1982
Race/Sex:	Caucasian Male / 33 yrs. of age
	Agency
Dept:	Alaska State Highway Patrol Fairbanks, AK USA
Dept. Type:	State/Police
Hero's Rank:	Trooper
Sworn Date:	6/1976
FBI Class:	Homicide - Domestic
Badge:	22

Bio: Roland Edgar "Skip" Chevalier, Jr., 33, was born on March 8, 1949, in New Bedford, MA, to Roland Chevalier, Sr., and Patricia Howard Chevalier. He was one of three brothers (Roland Edgar, Randall Howard and Patrick Scott. His father was born in Canada and his mother in MA. "Skip" was raised in New Bedford, MA, and graduated from New Bedford H.S. in 1967. He was active in R.O.T.C. in high school. Chevalier joined the U.S. Army after graduating from high school and served for 8 & 1/2 years in the 82nd Airborne. He served two 11-month tours in VietNam and was involved in combat in VietNam and Cambodia. He was discharged (from the 172D INF BDE AK FC) with the rank of Staff Sgt. in 1976.

During his tenure in the Army (1972), Chevalier was stationed at Ft. Richardson in Anchorage and served as a military police officer with a drug enforcement unit. He decided to stay in AK upon discharge from the Army in 1976 and sought work in law enforcement.

Chevalier joined the AK State Troopers on June 21, 1976. He worked as a drug enforcement officer with a joint task force (City of Fairbanks and the State) for three months before joining the 27th Recruit Class at the Trooper Academy in Sitka. He graduated from the Academy in Nov. of 1976. Chevalier was a six-year veteran of the AK State Troopers at the time of his death.

In 1978 Chevalier was transferred to Ft. Yukon and for two years was in charge of law enforcement of a large area that included 15 villages in northern and eastern AK. For the first year he and his wife lived in Ft. Yukon but then moved (in Feb. of 1979) to Fairbanks because of housing difficulties (a frozen sewer line and an inadequate heater) in Ft. Yukon.

Trooper Chevalier "fit in well" with the villagers in the bush country and tried hard to understand their culture and lifestyle. He had an "excellent reputation" among the various villages such as Rampart, Arctic Village, Circle City, Stevens Village, Venetie, and Circle Hot Springs where everyone was aware that he "worked days, nights and weekends on the job." He was the first "roving bush trooper" as most of the villages he served were accessible only by air. Trooper Chevalier would fly from his home in Fairbanks to the "bush" where he would stay for 5-7 days three or four times a month.

In Aug. of 1980 Chevalier had been assigned to the Judicial Services Unit at the State Courthouse in Fairbanks and was primarily engaged in transporting prisoners to and from the courthouse.

Roland Chevalier, 28, married Bevinne McCann, 21, in 1977. She was born and raised in the Fairbanks area and her father owned the Cleary Summit Ski Lodge and the Alpine Haus Ski Shop. The couple had two children, Tenley (born in 1979), and Roland, Jr. (born in 1981). He and his family were members of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Fairbanks. Roland, a student pilot, served in the Arctic Flying Club's maintenance division. He also enjoyed hunting and often went with friends (by air) to hunt in remote locations in AK. He also enjoyed sking. Chevalier served as a board member of the Fairbanks Citizens Advisory Committee.

Survived by:

Bevinne Chevalier - Wife

a daughter, Tenley, 2 & 1/2, and son, Roland, III, five months, of Fairbanks; his parents, Roland and Pat Chevalier, of Mattapoisett, MA; and two brothers, Randall Howard, 27, of Marion, MA, and Patrick Scott Chevalier, 12, of Mattapoisett, MA.

Fatal Incident Summary

Offender:	Robert L. ("Bobby") McCann

Location:	Fairbanks, AK USA Sat. Apr. 03, 1982
Summary:	AK State Trooper Roland "Skip" Chevalier, 33, was shot and killed by his brother-in-law on April 3, 1982, while trying to intervene in a domestic dispute at a ski lodge near Fairbanks. His assailant was later acquitted at trial. Around 10:30PM on Saturday night, April 3, 1982, Chevalier was watching a video with several others at the Cleary Summit Ski Lodge (about 20 miles from Fairbanks off the Steese Highway). He had eaten dinner with his family at 7:30PM and his wife and children had gone to bed by 9:00PM. At 10:30PM he heard gunshots and went outside to investigate (thus going on-duty). When he got outside the lodge he saw his father-in-law, Robert L. ("Bob") McCann, Sr., 58, who owned the ski lodge, holding a shotgun. The trooper tried to talk his father-in-law into putting the gun down and to stop arguing with his son, Robert L. ("Bobby") McCann, Jr., 31. The elder McCann then fired his shotgun at his son who was standing in the doorway of his cabin and hit him in the left elbow. The younger McCann then fired a 30-06-caliber hunting rifle from the doorway of his cabin at his father but the shot hit Chevalier in the chest as he stood between the father and son. Chevalier was killed "instantly". After Chevalier fell to the ground, Link Imeson, the elder McCann's business partner for 30 years (who had been watching the video with Chevalier), walked up to the younger McCann and took the rifle from him, saying, "That'll be enough of that!" Bobby McCann then "ran off" but was arrested by state troopers later that night. He was taken under guard to Fairbanks Memorial hospital for treatment of his wound.
Disposition:	Records at the AK Dept. of Corrections indicate that Robert L. McCann, Jr., was acquitted at trial. He was successful in claiming that the shot that killed Chevalier was fired at his father in self-defense and thus that the killing of Chevalier was an accident. The killer's father, Robert L. McCann, Sr., 58, was not charged by the Troopers but was indicted by the Grand Jury for felony assault in the shooting and wounding of his son. He later pled guilty and was sentenced to probation.
Source:	Book Excerpted in part or in whole from Dr. Wilbanks book- FORGOTTEN HEROES: POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN ALASKA, 1867-1998 By Dr. Wm. Wilbanks FL International University To be published by Turner Publications in early 1999

Last Updated: May. 29, 2019