AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Gov. Janet Mills plans to act within “a reasonable amount of time” on whether to remove a sheriff accused of improprieties following the completion of two days of hearings Wednesday, a spokesperson said.
Former Supreme Judicial Court Justice Donald Alexander, who presided over the sessions Monday and Wednesday, will make a recommendation whether Oxford County Sheriff Christopher Wainwright should be fired, but the final decision lies with the governor.
Wainwright has been accused of urging a deputy to go easy on an acquaintance cited for a traffic violation, letting two school resource officers carry guns even though they lacked the necessary certifications and transferring dozens of guns from an evidence locker to a dealer for sale without proper notification or documentation.
The sheriff, who was was elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022, said he believed he had the authority to sell the guns and did not benefit from the transaction. He also said that he was not involved in the hiring of the school resource officers in 2018, when he was chief deputy, and that he made a mistake in intervening in the traffic ticket.
Grant Shapps swerves questions on whether Britain could follow the US by banning Chinese
Scientists say coral reefs around the world are experiencing mass bleaching in warming oceans
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's 3 sons killed in Israeli raid
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's 3 sons killed in Israeli raid
Arkansas panel bans electronic signatures on voter registration forms
Beijing International Film Festival to feature French film week
Night landscape against stunning Milky Way in N China
In North Macedonia, two inmates walked out of hospital. Now, police are accused of helping them
Attempt to expedite ethics probe of Minnesota state senator charged with burglary fails on tie vote
Egypt to increase number of aid trucks to war
Trump factor loomed large as GOP leaders pushed through Ukraine aid
Nina Dobrev and boyfriend Shaun White are loved