Commission probing response to Maine mass shooting will hear from sheriff’s office
AUGUSTA, Maine — A commission investigating a mass shooting that killed 18 people in Maine last year will hear Thursday from a law enforcement agency that had contact with the gunman before he committed the killings.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey formed the commission to review the events leading up to the Oct. 25 shootings at a Lewiston bowling alley and restaurant. Commissioners, who will hold their second meeting on Thursday, are also present. charged with assessing the police response.
The meeting will be open to the public and will allow commissioners to speak with members of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department, a commission spokesman said.
Lawyers for some of the victims’ families have pointed to missed opportunities to prevent Army reservist Robert Card, 40, from committing the shootings and then being found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police videos obtained by The Associated Press and other news agencies showed that police refused to confront Card in the weeks before, fearing it would worsen an already volatile situation. According to numerous interviews, Card’s declining mental health was known to police, military officials and family members.
Mills and Frey said Wednesday they have introduced legislation to give the commission subpoena power when conducting an investigation, a power the commissioners have said they will need.
“This legislation, which comes at the request of the Independent Commission, will ensure that the commission has the tools it needs to fully and effectively fulfill its critical mission of establishing the facts of the Lewiston tragedy,” Mills and Frey said in a statement. .
Thursday’s committee meeting is the first of four in which there will be an open forum for comment. Meetings are also planned with victims, Maine State Police and the military.
The commission has said it will “conduct its work in public to the greatest extent possible and, upon completion of its investigation, issue a formal public report detailing its findings.” Members have said they hope to produce a full report by early summer.
Police were alerted last September by Army Reserve officials about Card, who was hospitalized in July after exhibiting erratic behavior during training. Officials warned police that he had access to weapons and had threatened to shoot up an army reserve center in Saco.
An independent report from the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office after the shooting found that local law enforcement knew that Card’s mental health was deteriorating, that he was hearing voices and experiencing psychotic episodes. The report provided clarity on the agency’s response to the concerns about Card, but several legal experts have said it revealed missed opportunities to intervene.
Thursday’s committee meeting will be chaired by Daniel Wathen, former chief justice of the Maine Supreme Court. Other members include Debra Baeder, the state’s former chief forensic psychologist, and Paula Silsby, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Maine.