Current:Home > NewsMaine governor declines to remove sheriff accused of wrongdoing-InfoLens
Maine governor declines to remove sheriff accused of wrongdoing
View Date:2024-12-23 16:44:55
OXFORD, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Monday declined to take the rare step of removing a sheriff accused of improprieties including the transfer of guns from an evidence locker to a gun dealer without proper documentation.
Oxford County Sheriff Christopher Wainwright was also accused of failing to ensure proper certifications were in place for school resource officers and of urging a deputy to go easy on someone stopped for a traffic infraction.
Mills said she concluded the evidence didn’t constitute the high hurdle of “extraordinary circumstances” necessary for removing a sheriff from office for the first time since 1926.
“My decision here should not be viewed as a vindication of Sheriff Wainwright,” she wrote. “The hearing record shows that he has made mistakes and acted intemperately on occasion.”
Oxford County commissioners in February asked Mills to remove Wainwright. Under the Maine Constitution, the governor is the only person who can remove sheriffs, who are elected.
In her decision, Mills concluded the school resource officer paperwork issue dated back to the previous sheriff and that there was no evidence that Wainwright benefited personally from the gun transaction.
She also concluded that his underlying request for a deputy to go easy on an acquaintance whose sister was suffering from cancer was not unlawful or unethical. She said the sheriff’s reaction to a deputy questioning his intervention — cursing and chastising the deputy — was wrong but didn’t constitute a pattern of conduct.
___
This story has been corrected to show that Mills announced her decision Monday, not Tuesday.
veryGood! (91124)
Related
- Colorado police shot, kill mountain lion after animal roamed on school's campus
- Bachelor Nation's Susie Evans and Justin Glaze Reveal They're Dating: Here's How Their Journey Began
- New Jersey OKs two new offshore wind farms that would be farther from shore and beachgoers’ view
- North Carolina authorizes online sports betting to begin on eve of men’s ACC basketball tournament
- Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas says he was detained in airport over being ‘disoriented’
- India's Modi inaugurates huge Ayodhya Ram Temple on one of Hinduism's most revered but controversial sites
- Jury seated in trial of Michigan mom whose son killed 4 at school
- Las Vegas-to-California high-speed electric rail project gets OK for $2.5B more in bonds
- Mike Tyson is expected to honor late daughter during Jake Paul fight. Here's how.
- Who are No Labels’ donors? Democratic groups file complaints in an attempt to find out
Ranking
- RHOBH's Kyle Richards Shares Reaction to BFF Teddi Mellencamp's Divorce
- After 3 decades on the run, man arrested in 1991 death of estranged wife
- More than 70 are dead after an unregulated gold mine collapsed in Mali, an official says
- New Hampshire primary results for 2024 Republican election
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, 4G
- Vermont woman changes plea in killing of her husband
- Jason Kelce Reveals Wife Kylie’s Reaction to His Shirtless Antics at Travis’ NFL Game
- Daniel Will: First Principles Interpretation of FinTech & AI Turbo.
Recommendation
-
Women suing over Idaho’s abortion ban describe dangerous pregnancies, becoming ‘medical refugees’
-
Gary Graham, star of 'Star Trek' and 'Alien Nation,' dead at 73 due to cardiac arrest: Reports
-
Proof Squid Game Season 2 Is Coming Sooner Than You Think
-
Court in Thailand will decide whether politician blocked as prime minister will also lose his seat
-
Social media star squirrel euthanized after being taken from home tests negative for rabies
-
Ryan Gosling criticizes Oscars for Margot Robbie, Greta Gerwig snub: 'I'm disappointed'
-
China formally establishes diplomatic ties with Nauru after Pacific island nation cut Taiwan ties
-
Kelly Clarkson Shares Why She Can’t Be Friends With Her Exes