(NEWS CENTER Maine) -- The York County District Attorney announced Wednesday that she would refer the case regarding allegations about two York County Sheriff's Deputies involved in a possible strong-arm incident to the Attorney General's Office.
"I have reviewed all the material submitted to me by the Commissioners. It is apparent that further inquiry should be made into the allegations," said York County District Attorney Kathryn Slattery. "In view of that, I have referred the matter to the Investigation Division of Attorney General’s Office. They are an independent agency and therefore without the inherent conflict of interest that would exist if the York County District Attorney were to undertake the inquiry."
The accusations come from a 2011 incident that resulted in a federal civil suit against the county in 2017. The suit claims that two York County Sheriff’s deputies, Michael Hayes and William Vachon, went to the Buxton home of an unnamed plaintiff, John Doe, and threw Doe on the floor, handcuffed him, and put him in an unmarked police cruiser and pressured him to refund money from a limousine service he provided.
The suit claims Hayes and Vachon were working on behalf of Joseph Fagone, a retired Portland Police detective, who was demanding that Doe refund Fagone $850 in relation to a “limousine incident” at Gillette Stadium. John Doe and his wife provided transportation services, according to the suit.
That suit was settled this past June by the insurer, the Maine County Commissioners Association Self-Funded Risk Management Pool for more than $67,000.
The Attorney General's Office spokesperson said it does not comment on pending litigation.
NEWS CENTER Maine received a lengthy statement from Hayes attorney. In it, she says her client is being treated unfairly and was never interviewed as part of the DA's review.
York County Sheriff Bill King wrote in an e-mail: "It would be inappropriate for the Sheriff’s Office to comment while that review is being conducted." Sheriff King previously told NEWS CENTER Maine that these allegations are "embellished," and that the timing is "political." He is running for re-election.
King was a Major in the department at the time of the incident. A computer aided dispatch report or "CAD" shows that a sergeant in the department took a phone call from a family member of John Doe, complaining about the incident. The sergeant wrote in the CAD that he left King a voicemail and logged the complaint in the Daily Activity Report.
The sheriff at the time, Maurice Ouellette, said he was not aware of the incident until the the news of the District Attorney's review. Ouellette said he would have started an internal investigation if he had known about the complaints. Sheriff King previously said he could find no evidence of an internal investigation.
Deputy Hayes still works for the department, according to the Sheriff's Department website.
NEWS CENTER Maine also reached out to Deputy Hayes, Vachon, and Hayes' attorney for comment. Hayes' attorney was the only one to respond.
Amy Fairfield wrote that both Sergeant Hayes and Detective Vachon offered the district attorney their full cooperation. She said Hayes and Vachon "regret the language they used during their investigation," but says they were "completely transparent" in their police work.
She also wrote neither Hayes nor Vachon were asked to discuss what happened that day. She said they will fully cooperate in any further review of the case. She called the case a "huge distraction" and "nothing more than a political ploy by people with vested interest in the upcoming sheriff's election."
Read the full statement here ► Lawyer for York County Sheriff's deputy: 'I have never seen the likes of this'
