(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – The case of one of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States, which occurred on October 25 in Lewiston, Maine, has now been complicated further as a veteran local sheriff’s deputy has hurled astounding accusations of incompetence against the state police over the shooter manhunt.
Attacking a Lewiston bar and a bowling alley last week, 40-year-old Robert Card slayed 18 people and wounded 13 others. The suspected shooter was found dead two days later.
A seasoned police officer from Maine, who was among the initial responders to the state’s most catastrophic mass shooting, openly criticized the state police for their lack of communication with local law enforcement during the search for the gunman.
In a candid but now removed Facebook post, Sgt. Jon Guay from the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office accused state police of excluding local authorities even while extensive areas were under lockdown until Card was discovered deceased.
“‘Radio silence’ is the best phrase to describe the amount of information the Maine State Police shared with the hundreds of law enforcement officers who responded to assist with this manhunt,” Guay wrote, according to a screenshot of his post saved by the Bangor Daily News.
“The upper echelons of the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit and Command Staff are utter clowns and I wouldn’t hire them to manage the morning rush at Dunkin Donuts much less an investigation of this size,” the officer added, as cited by The New York Post.
Guay, a 24-year veteran in law enforcement, claimed even federal agencies were not actively involved during the 48-hour manhunt, while the only state police updates came unofficially through “leaks.”
“I say this not as sour grapes but because it was expressed to me from every single law enforcement officer I spoke with,” he noted.
In response to Card’s rampage, a large-scale law enforcement effort was mobilized, involving 350 officers.
Federal entities, including the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the US Marshals Service, and the Department of Homeland Security, also joined the search.
Androscoggin County Sheriff Eric Samson confirmed that Guay’s post did not breach office policies.
“He was expressing his frustration, and I get it,” the sheriff said.
“It’s unfortunate this statement was made but it was a grueling and frustrating 48 hours for everyone,” Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety, commented on Guay’s post.
