SOUTH PARIS – A veteran county police supervisor has been demoted to patrolman after allowing an alleged drunken driver to get back into his car and drive, endangering both the public and other officers at the scene, Oxford County Sheriff Skip Herrick said this week.
Former Sgt. Gary Hill was demoted on June 16 after a “determination hearing,” Herrick said. The Sun Journal this week used Maine’s Freedom of Access law to get a copy of the sheriff’s disciplinary letter to Hill after the incident became public recently.
“I admit I did something wrong. I take full responsibility for doing something wrong,” Hill said Wednesday. “I just didn’t think it deserved that severe a punishment.”
The incident happened in April after a sheriff’s deputy stopped Stephen Holden, 42, of Otisfield, and was in the process of arresting him on Route 37 in Waterford for operating under the influence of intoxicants and driving a car with a suspended or revoked license.
According to Herrick, Hill was the supervisor at the scene and he allowed Holden to get back into the car he was driving and drive it across the road to park it in a town parking lot.
Hill said this week he allowed Holden to drive the car into the nearby municipal lot because there was an aggressive pit bull-mix dog in the car that would not allow an officer to search the vehicle. He also didn’t want Holden’s parents, who owned the car, to have to pay for towing, he said.
In his letter to Hill, the sheriff said Hill’s decision resulted in Holden breaking the law again by driving drunk, as well as violations of county policies and state laws that Hill was sworn to enforce.
“Not only did you allow Mr. Holden to violate state law, but also you jeopardized the criminal case against Mr. Holden,” Herrick wrote. “You negated any possibility of searching the vehicle pursuant to a lawful arrest and pursuant to probable cause. Lastly, the opportunity was there for Mr. Holden to leave the scene, which could have resulted in a chase.”
Hill, 42, has worked for the Sheriff’s Department for 19 years, the past 12 as sergeant. His demotion is the third disciplinary action taken against him by the sheriff, according to both Hill and Herrick. Hill was suspended for three days for being rude to a state worker, he said. He asked that the suspension be reduced and Herrick obliged by cutting it to two days.
Hill also was suspended for one day several years ago, but neither he nor Herrick could recall the reason.
Herrick defended his decision not to fire Hill outright after the April incident, saying Hill has many “good qualities as a law enforcement officer,” including being a “very intelligent person,” knowledgeable in his field and having excellent skills as a crime investigator.
“He is still a good professional law enforcement officer who is worth retaining,” Herrick said.
Holden has asked for a jury trial, which is on the Oxford County Superior Court trial list for September, according to Assistant District Attorney Richard Beauchesne.
Beauchesne would not say Thursday whether Hill’s mistakes have jeopardized the state’s case against him. He will not have any comment on the matter until it is prosecuted, he said.
Comments are no longer available on this story