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.
Los Angeles marches mark Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
Banging sound from Titan submersible search heard for first time in UK documentary
Coronavirus news: American tries to slip through quarantine
Hello Kitty theme park shut down after terrorist threat
Norfolk Southern's earnings offer railroad chance to defend its strategy ahead of control vote
Four things to watch out for as Americans vote
Students' tips for high attendance: 'Push through' minor illnesses to come to school
Pilot of crashed Baltimore ship called for tugboat help minutes before ploughing into bridge
Nootbaar, Gibson spark Cardinals to 5
Watch: PM Christopher Luxon announces building products shake
Biden picks up another big union endorsement, this one from building trades workers
Dozens of jobs set to be axed at Commerce Commission