THOMASTON, Maine — A local police officer has been charged with falsifying police records and failing to report a crash after allegedly striking another vehicle while plowing snow.
Michael Blais, 63, of Thomaston was charged May 16 with two counts of tampering with public records, which in this case were police reports. He also was charged with failure to report a crash and leaving the scene of a crash involving an unattended vehicle.
The officer was issued summonses for the offenses by Garry Higgins, an investigator for the Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office which is handling the case.
Thomaston police Chief Kevin A. Haj said after Blais was charged the officer was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal case.
The charges resulted from an incident Feb. 8, when Blais was plowing snow for the town in an area behind the business block. He struck a truck with the plow and caused damage to its doors, the chief said.
The chief said he was alerted to the matter a few days later by a citizen. The court documents in the case do not indicate what records were falsified and the police chief said he was reluctant to provide more information concerning a personnel matter.
Blais has remained on duty pending the initial part of the investigation, Haj said.
Blais declined comment Thursday morning when contacted by telephone by the BDN.
The tampering with records charges are Class D offenses and carry a maximum of penalty of up to 364 days in jail, but that would only be reserved for repeat offenders. The other two charges are Class E offenses which carry up to six months in jail, but again the maximum is reserved for the most serious incidents and with someone with a lengthy record.
His initial court appearance is scheduled for June 27 in Knox County Unified Court in Rockland.
Blais has been with the Thomaston department since October 2003.