PORTLAND, Maine – Maine police feared that confronting an Army reservist in the weeks before he killed 18 people in the state’s deadliest mass shooting would “throw a stick of dynamite into a puddle of gas,” according to video published on Friday by authorities.
The footage, which was provided to the Portland Press Herald and later sent to The Associated Press, documents a call between Sagadoc County Sheriff’s Sgt. Aaron Skolfield and Army Reserve Captain Jeremy Reamer.
Skolfield was following up with Reamer about the potential threat posed by Robert Card, a 40-year-old Army reservist from the Lewiston area who carried out the Oct. 25 attacks at a bowling alley and a restaurant.
Skolfield brought up Maine’s yellow flag law, which can be used to take guns away from potentially dangerous people, after Reamer said Card had refused medical treatment following his hospitalization during his military service.
Reamer echoed the idea that officers could be hurt if they went further to make sure Card wasn’t a threat: “I’m a cop too. … Obviously, I don’t want you guys to get hurt or do something that would put you in a compromising position to make a decision.”
A second video, which is also blurry, shows an officer at Robert Card Sr.’s home trying to check to see if the shooter’s brother, Ryan, has his guns.
“I understand that Ryan has his guns and I just want to make sure that’s the case. Are you familiar with that? the officer asks.
The footage, which was provided to the Portland Press Herald and later sent to The Associated Press, documents a call between Sagadoc County Sheriff’s Sgt. Aaron Skolfield and Army Reserve Captain Jeremy Reamer. AP
But Card Sr. says he hasn’t spoken to Ryan in recent days.
The officer says he will try again later.
“I just wanted to make sure Robert didn’t do anything stupid,” he says.
Two days after the attacks in Lewiston, Card’s body was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound two days after the shootings.
Reports soon began to emerge that he had spent two weeks in a psychiatric hospital months before the attacks and that he had stockpiled weapons.
Skolfield was following up with Reamer about the potential threat posed by Robert Card, a 40-year-old Army reservist from the Lewiston area who carried out the Oct. 25 attacks at a bowling alley and a restaurant. AP
Under Maine’s yellow flag law, a warning to police can trigger a process in which an officer visits an individual and decides whether that person should be placed in temporary protective custody, triggering evaluations that, with the approval of a judge, can lead to a sentence of 14 years. daytime gun restriction.
A full court hearing could result in an extension of the restrictions for up to a year. Since the Lewiston shooting, questions have arisen about why the law was not used to remove Card’s guns.
In the newly released videos, Reamer said the Card family had taken responsibility for removing the guns, and Skolfield said he would contact a brother of Card’s and make sure the guns had been removed.
Skolfield referred to the Cards as “a big family in this area” and indicated that he did not want to make public that police were visiting the home and kept the information off police radio.
A report released last week by Sheriff Joel Merry made clear that local authorities knew Card’s mental health was deteriorating.
Skolfield mentioned Maine’s yellow flag law, which can be used to remove guns from potentially dangerous people, after Reamer said Card had refused medical treatment following his hospitalization during his military service. GNMiller/NYPost
Police were aware of reports that he was paranoid, hearing voices, experiencing psychotic episodes and possibly suffering from schizophrenia.
Merry declined to comment on the release of the videos.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills appointed an independent commission headed by a former state Supreme Court chief justice to review all aspects of the tragedy.
And Maine’s congressional delegation said Friday that there will be an independent investigation by the Army inspector general to review the Army’s actions, along with an ongoing administrative investigation by the Army. ___
Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington and Nick Perry in Meredith, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
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