HOULTON, Maine — An attorney for a Maine State Police sergeant summoned in late June for operating her state police cruiser while under the influence of alcohol has entered a not guilty plea on her behalf.
Aroostook County Assistant District Attorney Kurt Kafferlin said last week that Sgt. Julie Bergan’s attorney, Michael Harman of Millinocket, issued the plea in writing rather than appearing on Aug. 7 for her arraignment.
Kafferlin said the move is quite common in cases where a defendant retains counsel before arraignment.
The 54-year-old was issued a summons for OUI after she allegedly failed field sobriety and blood alcohol content tests at the Houlton barracks, state police Lt. Col. Raymond Bessette said last month.
Under Maine law, people may be issued an OUI summons when they are found driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more.
Police said Bergan reported for work in her state police-issued cruiser and her supervisor, Lt. Mark Brooks, and several co-workers saw her behaving in what they believed to be an erratic manner.
State police administrators then ordered her to be field tested and the summons was issued.
Bergan is a 24-year veteran of the Maine State Police.
Aroostook County District Attorney Todd Collins said this week that he would not be releasing Bergan’s blood alcohol content.
“The contents of an investigative report are generally made confidential by statute, one of the few exceptions is when we disclose investigative data during an open court proceeding, at which time the information disclosed to the court becomes a matter of public record,” he said. “To my knowledge we have not been asked by the courts to disclose her blood alcohol content for any purpose, so we will not do so now.”
Collins said Bergan has requested a jury trial. He declined any further comment on the issue, saying the case would be tried in court and not in the newspapers and other media.
Bergan is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation conducted by Lt. Erik Baker, who heads the Internal Affairs Division at state police headquarters in Augusta, Bessette said.
Bergan was promoted to sergeant in 1997.
State police typically are eligible for retirement after serving 25 years, Bessette said.
I thought you got arrested for OUI not just a summons.
Yes you are, and the first thing reported in the news is your blood alcohol level. Seems as if i remember her name from some incident a few years ago in the Newport area.
That was a different State Trooper that was involved with Dexter PD. She was a K-9 officer that was arrested by Dexter and eventually fired.
And she has since died from cancer!
No i remember that one. The one I’m thinking of was raped in her cruiser, maybe on or near I95.
Just in most cases. Different rules I guess for SP Officers.
The arresting agency has the option of issuing a summons or making an arrest. Typically it depends on the incident, what may be occurring at the time, etc. I will note that most are arrested. The real reason for an arrest is typically a promise to appear, which is what a summons can do, to complete a booking process for fingerprints and photo’s, to avoid any further injury if the crime is violence related and to apply bail conditions. My assumption is that she is not going anywhere so there is no flight risk. There are actually a lot of summons issued for OUI or processing done at local police departments instead of going to jail. It happens. Especially when the suspect is cooperative through the process. As I said, all that is required is a promise to appear which is the purpose of the summons.
Not if you are a special person with privileges, you can then do anything you want.
Depends on the circumstances. Only certain crimes mandate an arrest be made.. Those situations when an arrest is “optional’ an officer will probably arrest a person just so bail conditions can be put in place or if the officer thinks the violator may be a flight risk and not show up for court
You can be arrested and then be released to your own recognizance. Happened to me when i got my OUI 20 years ago. Went to the station and was released without having to post bail.
Does show that they didn’t look the other way in this case. They investigated and charged one of their own. Not all OUI’s end in an arrest. Depends on what the investigating officer wants to do. Have to see how the trial goes.
“Bergan has requested a jury trial.” She’ll get one.
I don’t think a jury will have any sympathy for her. On the contrary, a Maine State Police sergeant with 24 years is expected to maintain impeccable behavior and use better than average judgement. Her comrades at the barracks found her with a blood-alcohol content above the legal limit or she would not have been summons.
Sergeant Bergan…admit your mistake (things happen), take your punishment and leave the State Police force. I think many people would rather see you retired than enforcing the lMaine laws on them at this point.
See, she has 24 in, the jury trial will take awhile, then she will have the 25 in and retire. Then make some kind of plea where she will be on probation while she is retired in Florida.
Own up to what you do…. Really she has been arresting people for 24 years and cannot admit she is guilty herself???? WOW!!!!!!
You know It’s to Bad the people who are suppose to stop people from doing this, are doing it them selves. At least her co-workers stood by the law and not friendship.
This women does not have a shred of integrity left! She violated the oath for which she has sworn to uphold! For her to challenge her peers and enter a not guilty plea, shows how dishonest this women is! Do yourself a favor and the State of Maine and resign!
Not yet. soon after she is employed for 25 years and can get her pension… I believe in a few months. If I was her I’d wait it out also and so would you.
Amen
You should talk to Sheriff Ross and nothing would have happened.
She must have pissed someone off.
failed the sobriety tests! then plead not guilty, man, i wish i’d of thought of that in 83.. lmao,,
hmmm came to work drunk wonder how many times before she has done this and gotten away with it sounds like she has a drinking problem to me probly wont even loose her lic
This a perfect example of how our country has changed in the past few decades. If this had happened 40 years ago, her fellow officers would have taken her home and her supervisors would have handled this problem internally, not in the Bangor Daily News! All of you do gooders in Maine, put yourself in this officer’s shoes for a minute. She is one year from retirement and makes a mistake, so you all want to “hang her out to dry” and take away her retirement. She obviously has 24 years with acceptable behavior. The people of this country are so vicious today. Everyone seem to hate everyone! What happened to compassion? Then you put her down for hiring an attorney, which is exactly what you would do, if it were you facing those charges. A not guilty plea is standard practice with ANY attorney! So it’s “don’t do what I would do…it’s, do as I say you should do” because she’s an officer of the law and she shouldn’t have the same rights as you. As I recall, a few short years back, Houlton had a Postal Employee who got caught tampering with mail in the Houlton PO and he should have gone to prison as his act was, I believe, a Federal Offense. But, he was one of Houlton’s “Good Ole Boys” and escaped serious punishment and got his retirement, right? We all need to take a step back and THINK before we condemn our fellow citizens. We need to consider how we’d feel if it were us in the same situation. This lady trooper deserves the same consideration as the local postal employee, don’t you think? Let’s all try to be nicer to our fellow man (or woman) rather than being so vicious all of the time. It might make you feel better about yourselves.
You are right. But, back in those days most troopers were members of the Masonic Lodge, or Veterans, and yeah, most of them took a drink, but in those days a test was not compulsory.
Why was the test compulsory? Are you telling me, none of the troopers drink today? I don’t see where belonging to a faternal organization has anything to do with it. They were among themselves at the baracks, they could have used discretion and they did not. It’s like arresting your own grandmother. I’m just saying, times have changed, not necessarily for the better. “Discretion is the better part of valor” I hope her attorney drags this out until her 25th anniversary and she gets her pension.
Not so much is it possible to use discretion in today’s world of facebook, blogs, if, one, and only one, decided to be a stooly and open up a discretion situation, they all could have been up a creek. I am on your side, competely, I hope and think she deserves her pension, but, we must, recognize, workplaces are becoming vicious.
I can only assume that you have never been a member of a fraternal club. Showing an officer a Knights of Columbus membership card or having a K of C decal on your vehicle used to work too.
It might have worked if the tropper was Catholic? I guess…
I know first hand that was happening 0n both sides of the border along the St. John river valley when I was growing up. The vast majority of police officers (at least back then) were catholic.
Yeah, because being run over by a fraternal brother doesn’t hurt as much… I hope these organizations don’t wonder why the youth of today find them useless.
This 54 year old Maine State Trooper, Sgt Julie Bergan, probably issued her fair share of impaired driving tickets before her “supervisor” and “administrators” busted her for arriving at the barracks impaired that day. As they say, Julie, what is good for the “gander” is also good for the “goose”. I am sure there are probably many people this Sgt ticketed throughout her 24 year career who will have no empathy for her, and you can’t blame them too much for thinking stupid and feeling that way. I believe she’ll get the usual treatment in court and at her sentencing, if the facts are found to support the charge (of course) in the view of the Judge. Yet, I’ll bet there is some explanation (or mitigation) for her being impaired that day, that we all might want to know about so that we can all better understand how this could happen. … a serious personal situation or, maybe, not. Maybe she just drinks too much. We don’t know. And, we can’t fault her co-workers, either. They, I suppose, are simply doing their job of protecting the public from an impaired driver. Ummh, …. I am just going to scratch my head on this one and hope it all goes like it should … our system of justice and her administrators do the right thing by us and her.
The postal employee should not have gotten special treatment and neither should the trooper. We now have one set of laws for the citizens and another set for the drones infesting government “service”. The law is supposed to be blind, but it never is.
40 years ago an officer was just as likely to give you a ride home after pulling you over as they were to give you a ticket today. Heard plenty of those stories from older folks. Either that or let you sleep it off in your car on the side of the road and bring the keys back to ya later.
That was before OUI was mostly about the almighty dollar.
How could she be charged with OUI whilst standing on her own two feet in the State Police barracks at Houlton?
She certainly was not behind the wheel of an auto, when the “field?” tests were performed.
So how could she be Operating Under The Influence of Intoxicating Liquor. “Operating” being the key element in the charge. Wobblin’ around after a pint or two ain’t on the books – yet.
If she was imbibed with alcohol, then she should have been considered a bit soused to be looking for OUI’s and sent home. But, whaddya goin’ do, in any outfit, if you have a Captain Queeg running the ship? You’re right. At least, I agree with you. Others won’t. Years back, any crew or team member would have quickly hustled her out, grabbed her a coffee at a drive-through, and taken her home. After 25 years of dedicated service, someone should have cut her some slack.
If she drove to the station then she was operating under the unfluence. She got cut more slack than the average citizen does.
She wasn’t operating whilst standing in the barracks of Troop E at Houlton.
I find it laughable that so many want to cut her a break. Really, a trooper who’s sworn to uphold these laws, one who must have seen numerous tragedies at the hands of drunk drivers? She has no right or expectation for her co-workers to risk their careers to cover her problem. I;m sure she’s dragging this out to ensure she hits the 25 year mark so she can be found guilty then take her retirement. I guess I’d be OK with given she put in the time, but skate free? No Way!
Everyone deserves a break. You sound like Bligh.
Maybe they were tired of cutting her some slack.
Maybe. I just commented on what I read.
Maybe.
Maybe, but we don’t know that, do we?
She’s suppose to be setting an example of good and proper behavior.
Having been a victim in a drunk driving accident as a child let me share with you.
I’ll tell you here we were, young women and little kids, heading home from a day at the beach. My mother said”Oh my God look at that fool.” I sat forward to look over her shoulder to see what she was talking about and saw this very large car coming down the road driving really fast. The road was gravel,it was under construction, the man driving was going down in the ditch on one side of the road and coming back up and down in the ditch on the other side, criss crossing back and forth. My mother stopped the car and told me to make sure the kids we sitting down. I pushed the kids back in the sit and crammed my baby sister behind me. My mom screams “He’s going to hit us.” He did, the sound was awful. I got thrown into the back of my mothers seat and it broke the latch and slammed her forward. The cars stopped moving and it was creepy quiet. I looked up and watched the windshield spider web cracks all over it. Then I saw blood everywhere, the little kids started screaming and screaming. Then my mother said “His engine is on fire get the kids out of the car, then she said my doors jammed I can’t get out.” I got out I don’t really remember how I think I got the other door open, my Aunt had disappeared and her baby, how could that happen ? and I got the other kids out.
I’m sorry mom I hit your seat and likely caused you more injury.
The man had lost his license for drunk driving long before he hit us, he barely got a scolding for sending us all to the hospital, he went on to hurt more people.There’s more to the story none of it pretty.
Now you want compassion for a person who knows better, who could have given these same life long memories to other kids, leaving them feeling some guilt because they were thrown violently into the back of a seat causing their mother injury that hurts her everyday still. To watch the court give the guy a $15.00 fine, to find no one in the court system gave a damn about little kids jbut show niceness, compassion, consideration to a loser who was a potential murderer.
Should we all chip in and send her on a trip to Hawaii, pat on the back, maybe double her retirement?
How about you paying us for all the injuries and suffering since you are so liberal?
You make me sick and this cop does even more
Liberal? I don’t recall mentioning politics, only compassion! Isn’t that what you’re asking for?
I totally agree that there is way too much meanness in some of the comments. We are all human, we all make mistakes, and when we do, we all want and expect more compassion from others.
At the same time, a state trooper who is impaired could cause a great deal of harm, without intending to. I hope this woman gets help in dealing with her personal demons and is able to bounce back from what must be a humiliating experience for an officer of the law.
I agree. The meanness is unwarranted. We need to put less emphasis on the fact she is a trooper and more on the fact she is another human being battling a serious illness, Alcoholism, drug abuse, etc do not discriminate. Hopefully, Sgt. Bergen will get the help she needs and recovers fully. We all deal with stress differently and sadly this was probably her way of coping with stress at work, home, etc.
Seriously?? Compassion for a veteran State Trooper driving to work drunk in a state licensed police car?? Thank God this isn’t 40 yrs ago, its the 21st century!!!!! What a slap in the face to the Hutchinson family whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver and ironically named the street to the Houlton Police Barracks after her. And no the postal worker got off easy because of being in the good ole boys club but you can’t compare, he was stealing and not directing putting lives in danger by being impaired while driving a work issued state car. A message of ZERO tolerance needs to be sent to people in positions of power that are held to same standards if not higher than us common folk.
So your argument can be summed up as “Cops should not be subject to the law”? Having said that, i don’t think any worker should lose their pension for this level of misconduct.
My argument is: everyone seems so bitter today. It wasn’t that way 40 years ago in Maine…
I understand what you are saying– but on the other hand we have to wonder how many breaks she got in similar incidents that were handled internally or how many times she went “unnoticed.” Either way, she screwed up badly putting her career & retirement at risk.
Well, the story didn’t say that it happned before, did it? So I was assuming that it was a one time event. I guess only her personel file would show that information. It also didn’t say who gave her the summons. Could it have been a trooper under her command, that had an ax to grind because she had diciplined that trooper? Possible? The REAL point of my letter was, how our world has changed and how people are so bitter today towards their fellow citizens. “Don’t hang me, but hang anyone else and especially anyone with any authority” Read all of these letters and you’ll see what I am talking about.
Maybe she’s just trying to stall until she hits 25 years seniority and can retire. She’s less than a year short.
Does administrative leave count towards retirement for Maine state police?
Sure it does! Hope she has a good lawyer who drags it out to the 25 year mark.
My thought is, if she is judged guilty and fully knows to the extent of the cost that she will be bringing to the state for a trial, she should have to pay back the state for all the expense. She holds herself above the law as do most of law enforcement, its just part of what happens due to the job but she should not of been drinking and driving.. Remember Bangor’s old Police Chief, Cliff Sloane and when he got caught driving drunk and with his headlights off. He was not a very nice man who always thought he was above all the laws. His real last name was Solomon but he went berserk if anyone mentioned that. What I am trying to say is, if we are a trusted official we need to abide by the laws or not be in any position that requires us not to. Sort of like the Newburgh town clerk that stole the funds, stay out of that kind of employment as you will be held to a higher stranded as well as you should and need to be. All public officials are answerable to the taxpayers of the land and who they are to protect.
what about the Turnpike authority director that stole thousands and gets to keep hos $5000 a month salary/pension plus 350K buy out?
what if her medications interferred with this whole thing???
What Dr. McGillicudy’s?
Alcohol has no boundaries…..you were caught, now take your punishment like an adult, hopefully stripped of your issued state police clothing attire, because you clearly don’t deserve to darn that attire any longer…..shame on you!
I stumble for you….LOL
Alcoholism is a disease. Getting behind the wheel of a vehicle, makes your disease a legal matter as well as a potentially deadly act. This will be a differcult one to resolve.
adminstrative leave, until the 25 years of service is in. delay the courts for a year and the Pension is in. I don’t blame the Officer at all. 24 years of service and one mistake takes away the pension is not fair. good luck Officer.
Just because it was the only time she got caught, doesn’t mean it’s the only ‘mistake’ she made.
Showed up to work Her shift drunk… I would say it probably wasn’t the first time this happened and that her fellow officers had probably quietly brought her home a couple times and the last time they did this she was verbally warned the next time they would charge her. She obviously has a pretty bad alcohol problem and needs help with that also.
And you know all of this…HOW?
“I would say probably” says this is my guess as to what may or may not be the way it went. I did not say this is how it went down did I? My best guess is based on the fact that this officer showed up to work her shift drunk. She is 54 years old and showing up to work drunk .. I would surmise that she must be in the advance stage of alcoholism to show up to work impaired and think no one will notice. This is why I do not think it was her first time, perhaps her coworkers had taken her home and warned her… I doubt they just stood by and let her go out on her shift impaired.. I am sure there is some history left out of this story.. A 24 year verteran just doesnt one day go out and get drunk before work and show up thinking no one will notice.
Sounds like she got a little carried away with the Allens.
Police policed their own. This gives the public confidence that they did not turn away. Kudus to them.
I’m glad they busted her and they have a lot more to go.This is the third time this happened this year and i know for a fact that state troopers drink behind the wheel more often than you think,which brings an interesting point-who holds them to the same standard as civilians? Its high time to random urine and breath check troopers on duty.We pay them to uphold the law and they need to respect the law regardless.
Law enforcement officers are human, too. They have thankless jobs. They also have the same civil rights as the rest of us. We all have the right to request a jury trial if and when we get charged with having committed crimes.
The article said that Sgt. Bergen received a summons bu never said she had been arrested. ADA Kafferlin said, “the move (not guilty plea) is quite common in cases where a
defendant retains counsel before arraignment”, which is true. For any of you who do not believe it, just gosit in the courtroom on arraignment days and you wear the vast majority of
defendants request trials. This is a way to give the defendant and his or her attorneys extra time to build a defense. There are times when the judges themselves will enter a not guilty plea on a defendant’s behalf just so the accused can have time to consult with an a attorney. A defendant is always given the option change his or her plea on the day the trial is set to take place of even after the trial has already started
In this situation, I believe there is no mention that any one witnessed her actually driving. Who says she did not consume alcohol after she was in her office. I do not recall reading in the article that anyone detected an odor of alcohol coming from Sgt. Bergen. Maybe Sgt. Bergen was experiencing medical issues. As far as I know they do not have a breathalyzer at the state police barracks which means they would have had to have a qualified person go there to administer a blood sample. Blood samples have to be sent away a lab to be analyzed so the resultsare not immediately available unlike what they do on TV shows like CSI,
The bottom line is that although some of the people who have posted comments have already convicted Sgt. Bergen based on scant information in d news article, she is innocent until proven guilty. I wish her the best of luck.
Oh yeah, let the individuals who are without sin cast the first stone. I guess that is not going to work because some of you have already thrown boulders at Sgt. Bergen.
One and only one of the problem’s is, how many folks has she arrested for the same offence over her career that ended up losing their jobs and pensions ? I really believe that all OUI cases should be dependent upon the person and their intake and demeanor and what number offense it is and if they are a menace to the highway but….that is not the way the law reads so, in fairness to all, it is what it is and there are no exceptions that I am aware of.
I think you will find she was seen driving. Maybe even up over a curb.
Just to be clear, I am totally against ANYone operating under the influence. Way too many innocent victims have died or been seriously injured as a result of people operating all types of vehicles while impaired. This being said, I am totally for “due process” and we need to let the process run it’s course.
Here is a thought. What would everyone say if she had ran into your spouse with your kids in the car, and god forbid injured or even killed one of them. Not to forget while she is on the clock driving a state vehicle. Pause……………….. doesn’t set a good picture does it. I remember a time when a young man was killed after dropping some friends off after drinking. He was 100 percent sober, but because there was beer cans in the car a certian trooper put the cans on the hood of the car for the news to see, and stated that intoxication was most likely the cause. This devistated this young mans grandparents. I have no simpathy for her. If she is so blistered she doesn’t know enough to call in sick, she should be judged like so many she has cuffed for the same thing.
P.S.
Maybe this wasn’t the first time she has done this.
Maybe repeatedly being covered up was being a liability.
I am sure this is not her first time……fine example to be setting for the public…..i have no sympathy for this officer……….in a cruiser on duty no less…….unreal!
When you are a public servant, you are held to a higher standard. Showing up to work demonstrated poor judgement and should never be allowed to hold a gun. I am pretty certain that this is not the first time it happens because the boys in blue take care of their own. She broke the law and should not be given preferred treatment. I do hope she goes for treatment to take care of her underlining problem.
She should have been fired the second she failed the test. As with most drunks in Maine she will do little or no time.
Clearly few of you have witnessed a mother being told her child is dead in a drunk driving accident, or seen the damage a motor vehicle can do to a human life. Excusing drunk drivers is like letting criminals own guns, it’s just a matter of time.
I lost any and all “sympathy” for her as soon as the not guilty plea was entered, even if it is just a procedural ploy to buy more time. Step up to the plate and take your medicine like an adult.