Project

Lawmen Off Limits

Months of reporting and a new trove of records reveal how the public is often kept in the dark about officers’ most egregious behavior and how Maine’s police overseer doesn’t act when officers commit a range of misconduct.

In one instance, at least five people alleged sexual harassment by a well-known former sheriff. He kept his badge because no local officials had the authority to punish him, or any Maine sheriff, for propositioning employees for sex.