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Former ISP director and ITD friend passes away at 63

The state of Idaho lost a long-time public servant in late January, and those with Idaho State Police and ITD lost a colleague and friend.

Former director of the Idaho State Police, Colonel Dan Charboneau, passed away at the age of 63, following complications from pneumonia. People who knew him say, as great of a cop as he was, he was a better man.

"The state of Idaho has lost a dedicated and faithful servant. That is what Dan Charboneau, the Colonel of the Idaho State Police, was and brought to the state of Idaho," said Col. Ralph Powell, current director of Idaho State Police.

Charboneau was in law enforcement for 36 years, 34 of that with ISP, retiring as the director in 2008.

"It isn't just the work and what he accomplished and the things he checked off, and was able to check off for the state of Idaho and for the Idaho State Police," Powell said. "It was what he brought to the position that made people want to dig in and work hard for him. He was a great man. He loved the outdoors."

It was that love of the outdoors that sent Charboneau on a weeklong raft trip in 2008 where tragedy struck. He was thrown from a raft, hit his head on a rock, and became a quadriplegic.

"The Idaho State Police under Colonel Charboneau was a true partner of highway safety," said ITD Highway Safety Manager Brent Jennings. "Without our valued partners in law enforcement, advances in Towards Zero Deaths would be impossible."

"The foundation that was built with Colonel Charboneau continues to expand to the benefit of all Idahoans and particularly to those who travel on Idaho roadways," Jennings added.