Technician says Caouette was coerced, cancels test
AUBURN – A polygraph technician refused to administer a lie-detector test scheduled to be given to an Auburn patrol officer Wednesday, according to the police union.
Auburn Patrol Officer Paul “Bud” Caouette was ordered to take a polygraph test to determine if he had leaked information to the Sun Journal concerning Mayor Normand Guay’s Aug. 4 drunken driving arrest.
Union attorney John Richardson said Caouette was prepared to take the test.
“The first question he was asked was had he been coerced to take the test,” Richardson said. “When he said he was, the technician canceled the test.”
Caouette was given a letter from Police Chief Richard Small Monday directing him to take the test. Caouette said at the time that he didn’t think he had any choice but to take the test.
“A certified examiner cannot perform a test on an unwilling person,” Richardson said. “It taints the results, if they’ve been coerced. The examiner has no way of knowing if the results are changing because the person is lying or because they are under stress from being forced to take it.”
Chief Small could not be reached for comment.
In January, Small announced disciplinary actions against nine officers, including Caouette, for their roles in Guay’s arrest. Discipline ranged from demotion to letters of reprimand. Caouette said he received a letter of reprimand.
The mayor was arrested Aug. 4 while driving home from Gipper’s Sports Bar and Grill. Guay said he drank three beers that night. Police stopped him later on East Hardscrabble Road for having an expired registration. Officers asked him to take a field sobriety test and then took him to the police station to perform a Breathalyzer test.
That test showed the mayor’s blood alcohol content was well below the legal limit and the Attorney General’s Office decided not to press charges.
The Sun Journal obtained a copy of the 16-page arrest report a week after Guay’s arrest.
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