A national union representing corrections officers is calling on Cumberland County commissioners to begin the process of removing Sheriff Kevin Joyce from office.
The union cites a 2020 incident at the jail after which Joyce issued a release accusing a corrections officer of assaulting an inmate. The officer, who was fired after being indicted, was later found innocent by a judge.
In a letter to commissioners Friday, William Doyle, executive director of the National Correctional Employees Union, asked commissioners to request that Gov. Janet Mills remove Joyce from office for releasing “very important pieces of factually incorrect information” to the public that blamed the officer, Vinal Thompson.
Sheriff Kevin Joyce Contributed/Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office
Joyce said in the release that the incarcerated person “started to back up and held up his hands” when Thompson tried to handcuff him. After that, Joyce said, Thompson “immediately began to punch the inmate in the face and they both began to scuffle.”
A judge, after reviewing security footage and holding a three-day bench trial, later ruled that the inmate, John Katula, had actually assaulted Thompson, who was justified in using force to defend himself.
“These statements opened up the County to a lawsuit from the inmate in question and publicly defamed Corrections Officer Thompson,” Doyle said. “The three (3) different camera angles are very clear and show a very different picture than the one Sheriff Joyce painted in the press release.”
Joyce, who is nearly two years into his four-year term, could not be reached by phone or email Friday afternoon.
Katula, who suffered a broken nose that required surgery, reached a civil settlement in February 2021 with the county, the sheriff’s office and Thompson. The defendants paid Katula $41,000, all through insurance, and signed an agreement denying any liability.
Thompson, who worked for the jail for 15 years, suffered a broken hand in the altercation, which began when Katula refused to provide a urine sample.
Joyce cited the videos in his release and called for a criminal investigation, which resulted in an indictment charging Thompson with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon (handcuffs), one count of assault, and one count of reckless conduct. Thompson also was “forced into a consent agreement” to have his corrections license suspended by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.
Doyle accused Joyce of violating the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics and “may have even committed the crime of Official Oppression” by focusing on punishing the officer and when he “blatantly falsified the series of events in his press release.” He accused Joyce of violating county policy by firing Thompson without the approval of commissioners.
“Sheriff Joyce in his press release and subsequent decisions chose to terminate an employee and former Local Union Vice President to satisfy his own political gain versus holding the inmate accountable for not following the rules and charging that inmate with assault on an officer,” Doyle said.
The incident occurred when the use of force in county jails was facing scrutiny. The state had recently reviewed and justified the actions of two Cumberland County jail guards who used pepper spray on two incarcerated people with mental illness. And a complaint had also been filed by an incarcerated person, who was allegedly assaulted by a guard at the Kennebec County Correctional Facility. That case was settled for $30,000.
In addition to seeking Joyce’s removal, the union wants Joyce placed on the Maine Brady List, a database of all known issues of police misconduct, decertification, public complaints, use-of-force reports and citizen reports.
James Cloutier, chairman of the Cumberland County Commission, declined to comment Friday afternoon on the substance of the union’s letter and the request to have Joyce removed from office.
“In general, we normally defer to our very profession human resources department to evaluate any claim related to any employee, including elected employees such as the sheriff,” Cloutier said. “We always pay close attention to any request from employee groups, including the unions of course. There’s an entire due process consideration we take seriously as well.”
If the commission takes action, it would be the second time this year that Mills has been asked to remove an elected sheriff.
Last month, Mills decided not to remove Oxford County Sheriff Christopher Wainwright from office. His removal was requested by three Oxford County commissioners, who sent a 10-page complaint to Mills in February saying Wainwright failed “to faithfully and efficiently perform the duties of his office and improperly exercised and acted outside of his legal authority.”
Mills appointed Donald Alexander, a former Maine Supreme Judicial Court justice, to hold an administrative hearing, which lasted two days, and issue a recommendation. Alexander recommended against removal and Mills agreed.
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