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1of9State police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance holds up a photo of Oxford homicide suspect Scott Gellatly,the subject of state police manhunt in the killing of his estranged wife, Lori Gellatly, in Oxford, Conn. on Wednesday, May 7, 2014.Brian A. Pounds / Brian A. PoundsShow MoreShow Less2of9State Police Lt. J Paul Vance speaks at a press conference in Newtown, Conn., following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School Dec. 14th, 2012.Ned Gerard / Ned GerardShow MoreShow Less
3of94of9State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance speaks about shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday, Dec. 14, 2012.Michael Duffy / Michael DuffyShow MoreShow Less5of9State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance addresses the media at a press conference at State Police Troop G barracks on Wednesday June 29, 2011. Bridgeport, Stratford and state police raided eight homes in Bridgeport and Stratford early Wednesday morning, arresting 29 suspected gang members in a wide-ranging drug and gun sweep. State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said the raids were the result of an investigation that began in March 2010.Cathy Zuraw / STShow MoreShow Less
6of97of9Lt. J. Paul Vance of the Connecticut State Police is surrounded by reporters as he hands out the list of victims of the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012 in Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn. The victims of the shooting were shot multiple times by semiautomatic rifle, according to Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver II, M.D. Carver called the injuries "devastating" and the worst he and colleagues had ever seen. Police began releasing the identities of the dead. All of the 20 children killed were 6 or 7 years old. Carver, said he examined seven of the children killed, and two had been shot at close range. When asked how many bullets were fired, he said, "I'm lucky if I can tell you how many I found." (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)Mary Altaffer / Associated PressShow MoreShow Less8of9Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, left, addresses the audience while Lt. J. Paul Vance, right, looks on during a ceremony honoring responders to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford Conn., Tuesday July 8, 2014. Awards were presented to first responders, state, local, and federal law enforcement officers, and civilian support personnel for their actions during and following the shooting in Newtown Conn. (AP Photo/Journal Inquirer, Jared Ramsdell) MANDATORY CREDITJared Ramsdell / Associated PressShow MoreShow Less
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Lt. J. Paul Vance, the State Police spokesman who became familiar to the public during and after the Sandy Hook school shootings in Dec., 2012, has announced his retirement.
Vance, who has spent the last few years heading up the state police traffic division, will leave on April 1.
The state open records database shows that Vance earned $136,000 last year.
He has been a Connecticut state police trooper for more than 38 years, and during his career he was assigned to patrol at both Troop L in Litchfield and Troop I in Bethany. He was assigned as a specialty K-9 handler, a SWAT Team member, a helicopter medic, and to other various specialized assignments, according to his bio on the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma website.
Vance has served as a detective on the State Police Major Crime Squad and as the resident trooper in the town of Prospect. He was an instructor at the Connecticut State Police Training Academy and also conducted in-service training classes for all state troopers.
As commanding officer of the Public Information Office, Lt. Vance was the public voice and face of the state police.
Vance announced in March, 2011 that he intended to try out for the next season of "Survivor" when the reality show held tryouts the following week Tryouts at Foxwoods.
"He is on TV, he is kind of cranky, he'd be good on an island, and his wife would like to send him to an island," J. Paul Vance Jr. said of his father at the time.
