MACHIAS, Maine — A Trescott woman has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an Oct. 8 incident involving an alleged altercation between her and Washington County Sheriff Donnie Smith.
Deborah Bousquet, 41, appeared in Machias District Court on Tuesday morning to enter pleas to charges of disorderly conduct and obstruction of government administration, according to her attorney and court officials. Both charges are misdemeanors.
Bousquet is next scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 23, officials said Tuesday.
Bousquet was arrested after she allegedly got into a confrontation with Smith after she and the sheriff separately responded to a report of an altercation on a school bus that was transporting Lubec students to schools in East Machias and Machias. The bus stopped at the intersection of routes 189 and 191 while the driver waited for police to arrive.
Smith has said he was assaulted by Bousquet as he tried to “defuse the situation,” which involved a confrontation between one or more students and the bus driver. But Bousquet has countered, arguing Smith was the aggressor. Bousquet, a Lubec teacher whose daughter was on the bus at the time, has notified Smith she intends to file a lawsuit against him, alleging she was wrongfully arrested and that Smith used excessive force against her, among other things.
Smith sought to have Bousquet charged with assault and failure to disperse, but the district attorney’s office decided instead to file disorderly conduct and obstruction of government administration charges against her.
Attempts this week to contact Smith and prosecutors in Washington County about the matter have been unsuccessful.
