Hearing scheduled as commission seeks to remove Maine sheriff from office

Maine (WMTW) - A hearing is now scheduled for April 22 in Augusta over a request to remove the Oxford County Sheriff from office.

Under Maine law, only the governor can remove a sheriff from office “upon complaint, due notice and hearing” if the governor finds the sheriff “is not faithfully or efficiently performing any duty imposed on the sheriff by law.” The Oxford County Commissioners sent a letter to Gov. Janet Mills on Feb. 7, asking that she remove Sheriff Christopher Wainwright. That came after the commission voted in January to request his removal.

“The Board has concluded and voted affirmatively that the Sheriff improperly exercised and acted outside of his authority, and that he has failed to faithfully or efficiently perform duties imposed on him by law,” the Commissioners said in the letter. “The actions of the Sheriff undermine his ability to be the leader of a law enforcement agency, to command the confidence and respect of the department and the public, and to enforce the laws and the policies of Oxford County and his own department with respect to ethical conduct.”

The commissioners listed three separate incidents in the 9-page document sent to Mills.

First, they detailed Sheriff Wainwright’s efforts to help an acquaintance out of a traffic ticket in November 2022. According to the letter, the Sheriff instructed a deputy who issued a ticket to be lenient. When the deputy reported this, the Sheriff called and intimidated the deputy further.

The commissioners also cited Sheriff Wainwright’s actions regarding unauthorized firearm trades in 2021.

“Sheriff Wainwright had traded firearms and firearm parts from the County’s evidence room several times in 2021 without the knowledge, oversight or approval of the Commissioners of the County Administrator,” the Commissioners said in the letter.

They said following an independent investigation into this, they found that this violated several Maine laws and county policy.

Lastly, the commissioners said that several people were assigned by the Sheriff as School Resource Officers in two school districts without having the required law enforcement credentials.

The hearing about the complaint will be overseen by former Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Donald G. Alexander and is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. At the hearing, both parties will have the opportunity to make opening and closing statements of up to 10 minutes each. The hearing will be open to the public and recorded. The exact location of the hearing has not yet been announced.

If a second day of hearing is needed, it will be on Wednesday, April 24.

After the hearing, Alexander will provide a written report to the Governor and make any recommendation he deems appropriate based on the evidence presented. That recommendation is advisory, and Mills makes the final decision.