DIXFIELD, Maine — The town of Dixfield has placed its entire police department — a chief and one full-time officer — on paid administrative leave, temporarily turning over law enforcement responsibilities to the Oxford County Sheriff’s Department.
Town Manager Carlo Puiia told the Sun Journal that Dixfield closed the department because of a “personnel issue” involving one of its officers.
The newspaper reported that Chief Jefferey Howe and full-time patrol officer Anne Simmons-Edmunds were placed on paid administrative leave and that coverage from the sheriff’s department was requested Tuesday.
Puiia told the newspaper that he expected to resolve the situation in three to four weeks.
According to the Sun Journal, reserve officers will not be scheduled and all department property, including patrol cars, computers, firearms and ammunition, has been moved by the sheriff’s department.