AUGUSTA, Maine — The hearing to help decide whether Oxford County Sheriff Christopher Wainwright will stay in office finished Wednesday. Governor Janet Mills is the only person who can remove an acting sheriff from their position and will ultimately decide Wainwright's fate.
The county commissioners sent the governor a formal complaint against Wainwright, claiming his tenure has been "tumultuous."
On Wednesday, Wainwright took the stand to finish his cross-examination.
In earlier testimony, an Oxford County deputy said Wainwright pressured him to dismiss a traffic violation for an acquaintance for consuming alcohol in a vehicle. The deputy said Wainwright told him to "make it right."
On the stand Wednesday, Wainwright said he thought he had the authority to shred tickets if he didn't think enforcement was appropriate based on training he received from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy and from conversations with the attorney general's office.
Wainwright also testified about an allegation he allowed two school resource officers (SROs) with expired law enforcement certifications to work and carry a firearm around children.
"Allowing the SROs to do so, however competent they were, is a clear violation of law and a course of tremendous liability for the county, the department, and the sheriff personally," said Amy Dietrich, an attorney for the county commissioners.
She said emails Wainwright wrote to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy proved he knew the SROs needed to renew their certifications. However, Wainwright testified Wednesday that he didn't know the officers' certifications had expired. His attorney, Jonathan Berry, claimed it was the result of record-keeping problems in the county that pre-dated Wainwright.
County commissioners also accused Wainwright of improperly trading firearms in 2021 against department policy. They said Wainwright traded agency weapons and firearms from the department's evidence room. Dieterich said policy dictates those weapons be sold at auction.
Berry said the commissioners have the right to criticize Wainwright's management style or personality, but he's done nothing wrong to warrant removal.
"Those are debates meant to be settled at the ballot box not as a standard means for usurping the will of the voters and removing a constitutional officer from elected office," Berry said. "[Wainwright] has acknowledged his behavior and would like to move forward."
The hearing officer, retired Superior Court Justice Donald Alexander, will provide Mills with a written report and a recommendation about whether Wainwright should keep his job. The governor's office said she hopes to make a decision "within a reasonable amount of time."