KINGFIELD, Maine — A father and son were arrested in Franklin County early Sunday morning, with the son allegedly assaulting a sheriff’s deputy.
The sequence of events leading to the arrests of Daniel Poland, 61, and his 28-year-old son Tyler, both of Greene, began around 1 a.m. when Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Morgan pulled the elder Poland over for running a stop sign on Commercial Street, according to Sheriff Scott Nichols.
Morgan suspected that Daniel Poland was intoxicated, according to Nichols, and as the deputy administered field sobriety tests, the younger Poland emerged from the woods, making verbal gestures at the deputy and attempting to strike him.
Poland fled back into the woods as Morgan was about to deploy pepper spray, and backup arrived soon after that in an attempt to search for the man, according to Nichols.
Morgan asked Dan Poland if he knew the younger man, and Nichols said Poland denied knowing who he was. Nichols said police believed he had met the man at the Nostalgia Tavern, which the elder Poland had just left prior to being stopped.
The younger Poland re-emerged out of the woods as Morgan and the elder Poland continued to talk, and Tyler Poland allegedly attacked the deputy from behind and threw him to the ground, the sheriff said. Morgan initially started to chase the man but stopped the pursuit knowing he had backup, and arrested Daniel Poland for drunken driving. Deputies located the younger Poland about 200 yards away, and identified him as Daniel Poland’s son.
Deputies believe that Tyler Poland was in a separate vehicle when he saw his father, who was driving Tyler’s pickup truck, get pulled over, according to Nichols.
“Deputies believe Tyler Poland decided he was going to try and help his father by attacking [Morgan],” Nichols said.
Tyler Poland was charged with assault on a police officer and obstructing government administration while Daniel Poland was charged with OUI and hindering apprehension, Nichols said. Both men bailed from the Franklin County Jail later Sunday.
