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The deadly mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, on September 15 has helped shine more light on the ambiguity surrounding law enforcement responses to mental health-related calls and has led state and local agencies to reevaluate current welfare check policies.
The sequence of events that led to the tragedy began a week before the actual shooting when Ellsworth police Corporal Kelvin Mote sent an urgent email to the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office, requesting a “well-being check” on Robert Card of Bowdoin.
The preceding night, “Sergeant Hodgson,” also Card’s superior in the Army Reserve, had texted Mote expressing concern.
Hodgson revealed that Card, facing allegations of being a “pedophile,” threatened to “shoot up” the unit’s drill center in Saco and physically assaulted Hodgson.
Hodgson urged Mote to “change the passcode,” fearing that Card was “going to snap and do a mass shooting.”
Reports from various sources had previously raised concerns about Card’s mental state, including messages to a school resource officer in Topsham and the Army Reserve unit in May.
Additionally, Card’s ex-wife informed Sagadahoc Sheriff’s Deputy Chad Carleton in May that Card had acquired 10–15 handguns and rifles from his brother. However, it remains unclear if authorities took substantive actions beyond discussions with Card’s family and Reserve superiors.
The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office received Mote’s email on the same day and initiated welfare checks.
Deputy Aaron Skolfield was unable to locate Card during the first attempt and escalated efforts with a File 6 teletype to alert law enforcement statewide about Card’s potential danger.
The following day, Skolfield and another officer located Card at his residence but did not act due to being in a “disadvantageous position.”
This was the last time police were able to locate Card before the shooting.
Card evaded authorities until a week later when he entered a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, resulting in the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history, claiming 18 lives and injuring 13. After a three-day manhunt, Card was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Maine Monitor’s investigation revealed a broader challenge faced by Maine law enforcement agencies: the absence of standardized procedures for responding to mental health-related calls. Agencies lack formalized protocols, leading to varied responses dependent on individual circumstances.
The Maine Criminal Justice Academy provides minimal guidance in such situations, with a policy lacking specific steps for responding to a welfare check unless certain legal actions are initiated.
Individual agencies, such as the Kennebunk Police Department and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, each have unique policies, adding to the lack of uniformity.
Officials acknowledged the dynamic nature of such situations, with responses being contingent on available information and an officer’s experience.
“There are certain procedures that we take to try to find people to determine if there is still a danger,” said Piscataquis County Sheriff Bob Young. “It really depends on what the nature of the calls are. There is no specific written protocol only because the situation is dynamic and it’s always changing. It’s based on the information and the evidence that you have at the time of that call.”
A range of tactics, from running license checks to utilizing teletypes, is often employed, but experts say the absence of clear guidelines poses challenges.
The lack of a centralized reporting database complicates efforts to track the frequency of responses to welfare check requests or mental health calls. Dispatch systems, which vary across agencies, also contribute to data disparities.
The struggle extends to cross-agency communication, where officers often seek information from other agencies. However, compatibility issues with computer-aided dispatch programs and the absence of a unified statewide system hinder seamless information sharing.
In the aftermath of the Lewiston shooting, an independent commission established by Governor Janet Mills will scrutinize potential missed steps or opportunities to prevent the tragedy.
Meanwhile, the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office pledges to evaluate its policies, aiming to strike a balance between public safety and individual rights in responding to mental health-related calls.
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