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.
Dairy cattle must be tested for bird flu before moving between states, agriculture officials say
China urges U.S. to stop COVID
Highlights of Xi Jinping's Visit to Vietnam
Xavi will stay with Barcelona for another season, AP sources say. Coach had planned to leave
China successfully clones world's first Tibetan goats
Xi's Speech at Meeting of Central Commission for Public Sector Reform to Be Published
Third CIIE to create new opportunities for common development
Biden signs a $95 billion war aid measure with assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan
EU condemns Turkish decision to convert Hagia Sophia back to mosque