Sheriff had cause to take Maine shooter into protective custody: report

The commission reviewing the events that led up to October’s Maine mass shooting found that local law enforcement could have taken the shooter into custody and seized his weapons prior to the shooting.

Army reservist Robert Card murdered 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, on Oct. 25, marking the deadliest mass shooting in the state’s history. Card was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound two days after the shooting took place.

A seven-member commission that has been reviewing the events leading up to the mass shooting and the resulting response released its preliminary report on Friday. 

The commission has found that Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office had “sufficient probable cause” to take Card into custody under “Maine’s Yellow Flag law” and to “remove his firearms.” The commission also said that the sheriff’s office “had probable cause to believe that Mr. Card posed a likelihood of serious harm,” according to the preliminary report released Friday. 

Card’s family members and the people he served with raised concerns about his behavior prior to the incident, the report noted.

The report also details the scrutiny directed towards Sgt. Aaron Skolfield. 

Skolfield was responding to reports five weeks ahead of the shooting that Card previously threatened to open fire at the Saco Armory and had previously assaulted a friend. 

Skolfield “should have realized that he had probable cause to start the Yellow Flag process. Sgt. Skolfield made only limited attempts to accomplish a ‘face-to-face’ meeting with Mr. Card. He failed to consult the agency’s records concerning a previous complaint about Mr. Card, failed to contact the individual who was assaulted by Mr. Card and heard his threat, and he failed to follow up on leads to determine how to contact Mr. Card,” the commission said in the report.  

It continued, “He also failed to seek assistance from prosecutors or other law enforcement agencies to determine how best to proceed.” 

Maine’s yellow flag law requires petitioners to notify law enforcement of threatening individuals, who may then be subject to a mental health evaluation.

The commission noted the report is not a finished product. It’s set to hold more meetings before releasing the final report.

The commission is composed of former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Daniel E. Wathen and the state’s Chief Forensic Psychologist, Dr. Debra Baeder, along with five more members, all appointed by Gov. Janet Mills (D) and Attorney General Aaron Frey (D).