AUBURN, ME — As the dust settles after the most heinous crime spree in Maine history, allegations have arisen about the cooperation of agencies responding to the incident. It is disappointing to hear this as we mourn for the victims and their families. In the weeks to come, there will be after-action reviews done to see how our agencies responded and take lessons learned from the incident and apply them to improve our tactics and strategies in the hope we never have to respond to an incident like this again.

In any incident of this magnitude, the initial response is going to be chaotic, especially with multiple scenes involved. Once an incident command system is established and logistics become manageable, everything becomes more organized.

In this incident, the suspect was identified within the first hour of the incident and suspect and vehicle information was broadcast out on a state-wide level rapidly thereafter. Once the incident shifted to the manhunt phase, a large command post was set up. Auburn Police Command Staff were present within the command post several times a day receiving briefings from the Maine State Police on the status of the investigation and the manhunt. This information was then passed onto our staff for their situational awareness.

At no time did the Maine State Police withhold information from us at any point. At times there was simply no update to give because there was no new information that had been generated.

The Auburn Police Department enjoys a good healthy cooperative relationship with the Maine State Police and will continue to do so.