Rumford Police takes to Facebook to answer criticisms – The Maine Monitor

Disappointed by the judicial outcomes of his department’s criminal cases, Rumford Police Chief Tony Milligan turned to social media last month to provide a window into the frustrations he and his officers faced.  Cases were getting dismissed, and questions from residents mounted.  They asked why Milligan’s department wasn’t doing more to stymie increases in crime and the burgeoning effects of the opioid epidemic.  Milligan said Thursday he empathized with the concerns and wanted to improve transparency in his department.  So he began a string of Facebook posts with case-by-case reports of charges that were dismissed or deferred in court, calling attention to a pattern in the judicial system that Milligan said has been frustrating.  As of Friday he’s posted two reports, reviewing 42 charges. “There was some kind of misconception that, ‘Hey, the cops are letting this guy out,’ or ‘How come they’re letting this guy out on bail and cases are (getting) dismissed,’” Milligan said. “And people … mistakenly thought that this was the doings of the police, and it’s really got nothing to do with the police.” The same sentiments were on display at a town hall in Mexico last week, when residents of the River Valley region
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