PORTLAND, Maine — A Maine State Police trooper who was caught driving drunk must stay out of trouble for three years or risk being kicked off the force.
Maine Criminal Justice Academy trustees on Friday approved a consent decree for 46-year-old Robin Parker, of Sanford, who pleaded guilty last month to driving drunk on the Maine Turnpike in December.
The Portland Press Herald reports that the agreement also requires Parker to see a counselor until the counselor says it’s no longer necessary.
Following his guilty plea, Parker was fined $500 and had his driver’s license suspended for 90 days. The Department of Public Safety also suspended him for two months without pay and demoted him from sergeant to trooper.
Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com
thats a bit stiff! hes not God he’s a human, and all humans make mistakes…he didn’t hurt anyone….
Ask any cop……when they are on duty…..if they are god or not. “he didn’t hurt anyone”…..? what about public trust? What makes him any different than anyone else?
They were very lenient. They could have fired him instead.
Fortunately!!!
“A deal was worked out?”………surprise, surprise…now ain’t that a knee slapper! How come no “deals are worked out” for anyone else? It’s sickening to think that a law enforcement officer can break the laws that he is sworn to protect, and get “a deal worked out”, which allows him to enforce the public’s liberty’s that he is “sworn to protect”…? What does Joe Taxpayer think?……it doesn’t matter I guess.
Must be Lepage’s fault.
Nope, it’s always the “libs” fault. Don’t you have something else to do? Once again you demonstrate that you cannot respond specifically to a post’s comments, let alone the article’s news. Don’t you have enough problems in the Nocket’s? I hear that they are gonna be hiring at the dump, sign up.
And once again you post with the most inane rhetoric displayed here.
I may not say anything in my posts, but I sure don’t waste bandwidth.
“inane rhetoric”????? I’m posting about the article! you are posting on me……and you accuse me of “inane rhetoric”?? If there is anyone on these post that is rhetorical …it’s you. with nothing to say, other than taking jabs at people who do actually care. Don’t waste you bandwidth on my account, it will never be reciprocated.
Well, Well, I see ole rusjan still runs off at the mouth with nothing to say. Still jumps to conclusions and bases opinions on everything other than facts. Always a good laugh to read.
And……you are……doing what? I’ll make my point, talk about the article, speak about my post….if you feel the need to comment about me, the people will laugh at you.
And it’s quite laughable…….”I don’t like this because ….” what? you don’t like it because I do? That is weak. get yourself a spine….they have them on sale at Marden’s.
We listen to you whine on here everyday, it is quite commical! Quit your whining, get your facts straight, make some sense, then post intelligently.
Some other people get deals just not the average Joe or Dave lol Depends a lot on connections .
Ya think if the people involved in Ralph Greenleaf case were high school drop outs from bad families they would have walked ????
I am a good guy and I made a mistake too. They didn’t offer me any deals though. Just 2 days in jail, 90 days suspended license and I lost my private sector job – deservedly – because if it. My life is changed forever for the worse . Seems like this guys is changed for a little bit…then back to normal.
Agree….. suspended from his job for two monts, license suspended for three months…..how does a “trooper” do his job without a driver’s license?? Ride a desk job I guess…..Crazy…..
Agree……I got an OUI at the University when I was 19, I’m 48 now, and it still haunts me. And ….no….. I haven’t got another since! I didn’t get a break, and I dunno if I was charged by a real cop, or a student pretending to be one. There should not be two standards, such as the proposal to let the cops text while driving……..ahh….NO.
Very numb comment…we may as well encourage firemen to be arsonests.
A lot of them are , there is one on the orono fire dept and one on the old town fire dept and many too many on the volunteer fire depts in Maine !
“Must stay out of trouble for three years”…..or “risk being kicked off the force”…..Really?? He’s a freaking State Trooper…..he was given one pass (that is known) and this is his punishment…..our troopers should be setting the example when it comes to obedience to the law they are sworn to uphold…..this is truly (IMHO) quite pitiful…..
I wonder about the liability issues to the State. I don’t think the State’s insurers will like being held liable for the actions of an officer who if he had committed these crimes before becoming an officer wouldn’t have gotten the job. How much do you think it would cost a convicted arsonist to get home insurance? Then there’s the issue of defendants in court. If they can prove the officer’s judgment isn’t sound, which it must not be if he was driving drunk, that introduces reasonable doubt. Good luck prosecuting any future cases he’s part of.
First of all Trooper Parker wasn’t given a special deal. Trooper Parker took responsibility for his actions, pled guilty right out of the gate, saving the taxpayers money in the process and was given the approriate sentence under the current OUI law.
His employer, DSP, suspened him for two months without pay and demoted him from Sergeant back to Trooper. Over the course of the remainder of Trooper Porters career this will mean the loss of thousands of dollars. It will also have a significant impact on his retirement benefits.
The Miane Criminal Justice Academy has now stepped in and rather than end Trooper Porter’s career they have chosen to place him on probabtion for the next three years. This basically means that if Trooper Porter commits and infraction of the academy standards of law enforcmemt code of ethic his certification with be pulled which in turn means his employment will be terminated by DPS.
Believe me, I have no sympathy for drunk drivers. My wife and mother-in-law were almost killed when they were hit by a drunk driver. I believe they should be held accountable for their actions and in this case I believe that Trooper Porter was. I also know that alcoholism is a disease and requires treament. It is clear from this consent decree that the Maine Criminal Justice Academy Board of Trustees recignized that as well when they ordered Trooper Porter to seek counseling.
Ya, well my son WAS killed. He got a special deal, and you know it. No jail time, and keeps his taxpayer funded job. Counseling? really, how about unemployment with no benefits?, now THAT’s the counseling the average person would get.
Sorry for your loss, that is horrible. But, he received the State mandatory sentence. You do not get jail time 1. Unless you refuse a test. 2. Your BAC level is over .15% 3. You have a previous conviction for OUI. 4. Other factors, such as a minor in your car. So, for his first offense, he received the same sentence anyone would get.
Really? …. Does everyone get a “consent decree”? Does everyone get a breathe test, which tests out .01 percent from being an aggravated offense get a break? Does anyone who is responsible for public safety, transportation (MDOT), an ambulance driver……do they get a “consent decree”? This man should be unemployed right now! If you are that hammered, then why do people give him accolades for accepting responsibility? He had no choice, he broke the law, a law he is entrusted to enforce. ……….thank you for your condolence regarding my son…….I miss him, very much…..thank you.
I think he should be fired too, and I’m a cop. I’m only talking about the sentence. The Judge goes by the factors, such as the .14, no accident, no children, etc. Police should know better, and should be terminated upon a guilty conviction.
thank you…..that was very admirable of you to say that. I’m glad to know that you are with us. Peace (and I say that, because that’s what my son always said to me when we said good bye)
I think you should apply for his job……..you would do well for reference sake…..try Sebec…..two killed in accident……..2004.
You seem to have a great deal of pent up rage that appears to be clouding your judgement. Trooper Porter did not received any special treatment. If that were the case when he was caught, by a fellow trooper I might add, he would have been taken home and never charged. That did not happen. He was arrested like any other citizen, charged, processed and then released on bail. He went to court and pled guilty. Because his BAC was below .15% the judge handed down the sentence require under the law that would have been given to any other citizen. Again, no special treatment.
His employer suspended him without pay for two months and demoted him from Sergeant to Trooper. Private citizens rarely if every get such punishment from their employer, let alone fired unless the OUI occurred in a company vehicle while on the job. That was not the case in this instance either as Trooper Porter was off-duty.
The Maine Criminal Justice Academy Board of Trustees that has the authority to revoke the certification of Maine law enforcement officers reviewed the case. After this review they decreed that Trooper Porter would be allowed to retain his certification if he remained on probabtion and committed no new infractions over the next three years and that he attend counseling.
From your posts it is quite clear that Trooper Porter did not receive the punishment you felt he should have but I think it is just as clear that he did not receive “A special deal”.
If I have pent up rage, then you are the poster boy for deniability. Have you read, any of these post? There must be alot of pent up rage. I’ll say it one more time….He’s a Trooper, he can’t be treated like “everyone else”, because of that fact…………and he wasn’t.
I do commend this man for accepting responsibility for his mistake. The question I have is what if he had already been at the rank of trooper when he was arrested? What would they have demoted him to in that situation?
yeah and commend the murderer for pleading guilty or the robber or the rapist- means nothing
Interesting, sounds to me like you’re trying to say you don’t accept responsibility for anything you do that is wrong or are you trying to say you’re perfect and never do anything wrong? Just to make things a little clearer for you, I did NOT commend him for doing something wrong. I just commend him for accepting what he did was wrong and he is willing to pay the consequences of his actions.
“First of all Trooper Parker wasn’t given a special deal.”
I call fowl! It was exactly that. ALL Le’s not just troopers should be help to a higher standard yet another example of do as we say not as we do. Having a person CONVICTED of OUI handing out tickets is reprehensible IMHO….
i think he was – since cops use “discretion” , thier word in court is “above” that of the citizen and they Judge people every dayas good or bad they should be held to the highest standard. This guy was not
At last check a .14 oui is very close to the .15 limit for being aggravated with a 2 day minimum mandatory jail sentence. I bet odds are in favor of him being over .15 at the time he drove maybe not at test time. That being said he got off as little as possible for a .08 OUI. ( removed some negative stuff from post.)
Lesson in life learned well respect the man with the badge even when they are wrong they can make your life difficult.
History in the making, eh?
The first documented case of Restorative Justice in Maine.
Now how about applying this model to the other 99%
of the population.
OK go back to sleep,
Oooops what this?
Gotta ask! are you aware of the problem Driving While Female.
Moonbats Cain and Haskell are not.
So Maine will not get a volunteer civilian police review board with subpoena powers,eh?
NYPD Cop Arrested For Raping Woman At Gunpoint In Inwood
08/19/11
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/19/nypd-cop-arrested-for-rap_n_931674.html
DelCo police officer charged with rape
Friday, December 30, 2011
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/crime&id=8484157
Police Cadet Arrested On Rape Charges
January 25, 2012 12:55 PM
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/01/25/former-police-cadet-arrested-on-rape-charges/
He went to court and paid his fine, license was suspended,
demoted from his position in the Maine State Police and received a two month
suspension without pay from his job. Yes, he paid dearly for what he has done.
This person didn’t get any special treatment. He is human too. I have been a
law enforcement officer for 35 years, I bleed when I get cut too. This man PAID
the price and he didn’t deserve to be fired. I’m glad to hear they gave him the
opportunity to continue with the MSP. He has worked hard to be able to retire
someday; I sincerely wish him the best. If Joe Citizen had any idea what officers
go thru day in and day out they would have a drink too. There are those who
have had a bad experience with a law enforcement officer and unfortunately those
negative feelings last a lifetime, it is unfortunate.
Thanks for responding to my post . Just wanted to flesh out your response some more.
I was impressed by the speech Diane Wilson gave at the 2010 Bioneers Conference in New Bedord Mass. so I will share it with you. The first 5 minutes feature another speaker then Diane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeNjKPCmLJk
She is a shrimp fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico in Texas.
She sunk her shrimp boat in front of Dow Chemical where they were discharging toxic wastes and giving everybody cancer in town.
You won’t find the FBI , State , County or local police busting Dow Chemical or Goldman Sachs
but you will find these cops laundering their drug money through places like Bank of Wachovia
see http://www.madcowprod.com/
Many of these cops go on to work for Dow Chemical or Bank of America running their security programs when they retire. scroll down to FBI Director in link
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203961204577269841477216320.html?mod=djemTEW_h
Maine artist Robert Shetterly painted the portrait of Serpico the Cop to
remind Americans Serpico’s fellow New York City cops tried to kill him
when he exposed their drug dealing. see
http://americanswhotellthetruth.org/pgs/portraits/Frank_Serpico.php
99% of cops are former vets/ serial killers having returned from Iraq
where they invaded the country for Exxon Mobil . These vets have no
honor just like the Maine legislature has no honor
when they allow Exxon Mobil serial killers to carry a Glock and enforce Maine laws.
For Viet Nam era vets who are now cops going into Vietnam was the same
scenario. Exxon Mobil wanted the oil in the South China Sea.
You don’t like Vets Do you? Just a wild guess from reading this post. Next time you see one, thank them, because of them a person like you are allowed to express the …. that you just did. Believe me I’m being kind here.
99% of cops are former vets / serial killers??? First off, to consider a veteran of the US Military a serial killer is simply wrong. Perhaps the idea of going to war in Iraq was shortsighted, but these soldiers were following orders and fighting for their own lives. Secondly, please provide some evidence that shows 99% of police officers are returning Iraq veterans. While I don’t harbor any ill will toward any veterans, your figures are obviously guessing, and you have zero credibility unless you can verify your statements.
Well I have had a few negative experiences A long time ago. Times have changed a bit. I realize now police are just human we all make mistakes . I have learned to respect any enforcement officer weather is code, fire , or police. It is not a perfect world but it is getting better in some ways. Having met a former cop I had run ins with 30+ years ago(we became friends). I found he is a decent person was just having a difficult time in his life. Some abused thier authority makes we all make mistakes.
What a bunch of bull. This officer has driven drunk before, and this just happens to be the first time he got caught. I suppose you support child molesting teachers keeping their jobs. Law Enforcement has to be held to a higher standard. He should have been fired the day after his arrest.
I guess you must have a crystal ball, you seem to know allot
about this man. Everyone has an opinion, your response however is a little
twisted when referring to child molesting teachers keeping their job.
Educate yourself before you make a dumb statement like that, check the Maine
State Criminal code Title 17A and the motor vehicle law handbook Title 29 and
see what type of offenses we are talking about.
If he were a truck driver with a CDL license and got stopped in his private vehicle. He would have gotten an OUI with .01 blood alcohol level. He would have lost his job because his employer would not be able to afford the insurance hike or would have been dropped by their insurer.
I made a statement when this story first broke that he would keep his job. BINGO! If it were me, that would be the end of my job. How can you have respect for the law when the law enforcers don’t,
Yo dog you gotta learn and separate here.
Our criminal justice system is on the cusp of transitioning from a punitive-vengeance model
towards a model of Restorative Justice. For what its worth somebody had to introduce the concept into Maine.
In my bi-polar multiple personality disorder one of my personalities would have liked to see this perp go down for the count.
My smart criminal justice consumer personality prevailed and said this perp is worth about a million bucks in crime solving skills they don’t teach at the LE Academy. You learn these skills by OJT.
Better to keep him and his skills and swallow my anger and need for revenge.
After I made this decision I spent the rest of the day banging my head against the wall, eh?
LOL
see
What is restorative justice?
Restorative justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes
repairing the harm caused or revealed by criminal behaviour. It is best
accomplished through cooperative processes that include all
stakeholders.
Practices and programs reflecting restorative purposes will respond
to crime by:
identifying and taking steps to repair harm, involving all stakeholders, andtransforming the traditional relationship between communities and
their governments in responding to crime.
Some of the programmes and outcomes typically identified with
restorative justice include:
Victim offender mediationConferencingCirclesVictim
assistanceEx-offender
assistanceRestitutionCommunity
service
Three principles form the foundation for restorative
justice:
Justice requires that we work to restore those who have been
injured.Those most directly involved and affected by crime should have the
opportunity to participate fully in the response if they wish.Government’s role is to preserve a just public order, and the
community’s is to build and maintain a just peace.
Restorative programmes are characterized by four key values:
Encounter:
Create opportunities for victims, offenders and community members who
want to do so to meet to discuss the crime and its aftermathAmends: Expect
offenders to take steps to repair the harm they have causedReintegration: Seek to restore
victims and offenders to whole, contributing members of
societyInclusion:
Provide opportunities for parties with a stake in a specific crime to
participate in its resolution
I’ve tried SOOOO hard not to respond to you, but I will just ask once. Do you realize that there are scum in every walk of life? I’m not sure why you love to attack law enforcement (just google msfreeh…wow). They have trouble just like every other group, and deal with it when caught. To be hired, you get a background, polygraph, psych test, interviews and sometimes voice stress analyzer, and some give drug tests. Even with all of that, trouble sneaks in…at some point, they are discovered and dealt with.
I’d like to see you point out everyone arrested and then focus on their employment, otherwise, you seem bias.
On the other hand, I have to admit I love seeing your posts, in some twisted way :D
good to see we are bonding here at the BDN psychological soup kitchen for the political down and out.
Couple of Rules I try to follow, emphasis on try.
1. Every person on this planet has their own belief system about reality including crime and ugh punishment.
2. Every person’s belief system is perfect for that person, it dictates the lessons they will learn in life. see You just saw one of my belief systems.
3. My belief system is no better or worse than any other person. This is what I got to work with.
4. My belief systems are not the same belief systems I had when I was 18.
They keep changing and over 95% of them come from what I have picked up from other people including the language I use posting here
Some of the belief systems I have will not be around next week
excuse me but I just started supper and will continue this later, eh?
He seems to have been given the penalty given to many first offenders. The rest is between him and his employer, as it is with all of us with jobs. Who his employer is should not be a major factor.
I don’t believe cops should lose their jobs neither should, teachers or anyone else, for their first offence . . They need to rehab and move on with their lives, not have them destroyed. Most folks have operated their vehicle over the limit at one time, most just never got caught.
Well said!
Let’s work toward getting that through legislation…. In the meantime, the guilty should be relieved of his position as a state-worker…..
most people aren’t cops……you know….the ones that makes you responsible for your mistake?
I get that you may not like what I say but jeez, must you be so verbose. What’s with referring to other sites? Haven’t you an original thought?? Or is that your idea of “Research”, “If YOU say so, it must be true eh?”. Don’t use Semper Fi to me, You haven’t earned it.
Wow! This guy (msfreeh) seems to have a bad case of diarrhea of the finger tip. Some seem very ungrateful for what they have been given with the lives of others.
So I’ve noticed. Thank you for the good thought though.
pssst She’s a little snafu
I get the afu part, but there’s nothing “normal” going on here.
My My, aren’t we an angry camper! Take a chill pill & go watch a Vietnam movie. It would be good for you. Maybe see a shrink too as you certainly need one.
How about the righties weigh in on how they would like to see any other state employee treated in the same circumstances?
A plow truck driver, a technician that has to drive. They don’t seem to be Union haters when the guy has a gun and a flag on his shirt.
The fact is, he probably got a fair deal, but everyone else should qualify for the same deal.
Um, “Be all you can be” is Army. Normaly I don’t say this to people but I’ll make an exception in this case. Start self medicating right away! REpeatedly and often.
For anyone else whose employment mandates that they drive this outcome is on the light side. Add in the fact that he has sworn an oath to uphold the laws, not carelessly break them.
I have never met the man. He has paid the price. I am sure he will continue to serve well. Kudos to MSP to standing up for their people.
he is a scum bag – a bad guy as the cops say never will he be trusted