A Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s deputy said the commission investigating the Lewiston mass shooting has distorted his efforts to check on the gunman about a month before he killed 18 people and wounded 13 others.
Sgt. Aaron Skolfield is mentioned nearly 40 times in the commission's interim report, which lays much of the blame on him for failing to confront Robert Card and take him into protective custody about six weeks before the shooting.
But Skolfield, in a 20-page rebuttal drafted by his attorney, said the commission made assertions that were incorrect, errors in the timeline of events and "seemed to be in a rush to find fault" when it issued its interim report on March 15.
He also said the commission released its report before re-interviewing members of the Army reserves who had provided reams of documents via subpoena that commission members acknowledged at the time that they didn't have a chance to review. As a result, Skolfield said the commission overstates the warnings he received from reserve members about the urgency to confront Card.
"The lack of action and downplaying of the threat by the Army Reserve members involved speaks volumes," his response stated. "Arguably, in an effort to find someone to blame for this horrible tragedy, the Commission has distorted and ignored the evidence provided to them. In distorting and ignoring the accurate facts and evidence, and prematurely drawing conclusions, the Commission has unfairly put the blame squarely on Sgt. Skolfield and the (Sagadahoc County Sheriffs Office)."
Skolfield's response is the latest development in the fallout from the tragedy, which at times has pitted several law enforcement agencies and the Army against one another.
The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but it is expected to meet again next week.
Earlier this year, Skolfield and other Sagadahoc County sheriff's deputies testified that they then visited Card's home to attempt a "welfare check" at the request of Army leaders.
During one visit, Skolfield believed Card was home but not answering the door. Having been warned that Card had access to weapons, the deputies backed off and Skolfield said he watched the home from a distance as he attempted to contact Card's relatives and Reserve leaders.
Skolfield testified that he didn't believe he had legal grounds to take Card into custody because he had not been able to conduct a face-to-face assessment of him and he had not committed any crimes.
"I was trying to figure out how to skin this cat from a different direction," Skolfield told the commission in January. "I can't make him come out, I can't make him answer the door, I can't make him talk to me. But at the same time I can't go barging into his trailer because he has 4th Amendment issues against search-and-seizure. He hasn't committed a crime."
Instead, Skolfield said he was assured by Card's brother that he would work to remove his access to guns. Reserve leaders also said they would try to get Card into treatment.
But in its interim report, the commission singled out Skolfield repeatedly and faulted him — as well as other law enforcement — for not attempting to invoke the yellow flag law on Card. Under the law, police can take a person into protective custody and have them evaluated by a medical professional. If both the evaluator and a judge agree the person poses a threat, police can then order them to temporarily relinquish any weapons.
Skolfield took issue with the commission's finding that he had probable cause to take Card into custody.
"The Commission creates an illusion in their Initial Interim Report that law enforcement regularly obtains warrants for misdemeanor crimes where there is no willing or cooperative complainant or victim, except domestic violence assault as mandated by law," Skolfield's response stated. "The Commission is, in essence, dictating that law enforcement should charge for every crime in all instances because of what may occur after the fact regardless of a victim’s wishes. This is a notable change in law enforcement practice that the Commission insists should have been done. This practice, if implemented, would have far reaching implications in Maine law enforcement and the judicial process."
This story is part of an ongoing collaboration with FRONTLINE (PBS) and the Portland Press Herald that includes an upcoming documentary. It is supported through FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
