Maine: Report suggests some deputies responding to mass shooting were intoxicated

Source: Associated Press

Report suggests some deputies responding to mass shooting were intoxicated

BY DAVID SHARP
Updated 3:10 PM EDT, May 21, 2024

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — An independent commission investigating the deadliest shooting in Maine history plans to take up accusations in a report that contended self-dispatching police officers created “chaos” during the search for the gunman.

But the commission may not address an allegation that deputies in an armored vehicle had been drinking before nearly crashing into another armored vehicle. Chairman Daniel Wathen said commissioners intend to address some of the report’s “disturbing allegations” while others are outside the panel’s scope.

The panel reconvenes Friday to hear from witnesses on communications and coordination problems.

The after-action report by the leader of the Portland Police Department special response team indicated a Cumberland County tactical vehicle nearly crashed into a Portland police vehicle, something that could’ve claimed lives, while noting that officers showing up to help without being assigned to do so created the potential for more harm than good.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/maine-mass-shooting-deputies-drinking-report-23d833b365f85e1c1f7d83920ee3d549