Guidelines for posting on bangordailynews.com

The Bangor Daily News encourages comments about stories, but you must follow our terms of service.

In brief:

1. Keep it civil and stay on topic
2. No vulgarity, racial slurs, name-calling or personal attacks.
3. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.

The primary rule here is pretty simple: Treat others with the same respect you'd want for yourself. Here are some guidelines (see more):

It should be noted this is not a comprehensive list.

• Don't insult one another or the subjects of BDN stories. You may be ticked off at what someone did or said, but you can explain that without resorting to name-calling or obscenity. Remember that young people are on this site too.
• That nasty line that makes your buddies go "haw, haw"? You're better than that.
• Comments should be your own work, not copied and pasted from elsewhere, though brief quoted passages to make your point are fine. And please don't use all capital letters. There's no need to shout.
• Stay focused on the issue in the article. Off-topic posts will be deleted.
• This isn't a forum to chat about your personal life.
• Some ideas — the fate of the earth, abortion, gun control, the nature of God — aren't going to be resolved in a reader forum, so no need to get frustrated if others don't see your point of view. State your position once and leave it at that.
• If you mouse over each comment you will see a "Flag" button. Please use it if you feel comments on the site are out of line. Quite often, we won't see a comment until it's reported.
• Questions about why a comment was — or wasn't — deleted? E-mail us at web@bangordailynews.com and let us know your username and where you posted or saw the comment.

That's about it: Stick to writing about the stories; be civil; be kind; enlighten your neighbors. And we'll keep moderating posts to try to ensure everyone meets those standards.

• Anonymous

  I don’t think the town ( Houlton ) has the authority to make this kind of decission. I belive only the state could grant that kind of power, thats why we have sheriffs and the state police. My opinion is that it is a bad idea. Something will happen and there will be a lawsuit of some kind and Houlton and the state may be sued…..bad idea.

• Anonymous

  Orwellian………

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TJYZV7JWWJCPG7BX65EM6UOHZ4 Skowhegan Resident

  Houlton Chief Asselin is perhaps the best police chief/ officer in Maine. I would know because he was our town police chief for years. One time we were having problems in our neighborhood,Chief Asselin went door to door in the neighborhood including mine, asking what he and his police department could do to help.

  For years now, Everyone in skowhegan knows drug dealing is done right in the Skowtown public parking lot . The Skowpd wont do anything about it. The State police will not do anything about it, the Somerset Country sheriff office will do nothing about it.  Perhaps Asselin can gather up a posse with statewide arrest powers and come down here and clean up skowtown again. Consider this an invitation.

• Anonymous

  Ok who’s hosing who? Any town you have mutual aid with your officers can arrest in if called to the scene.  Ok any officer regardless of on duty off duty or within their own juristiction can arrest and hold a perp. until such officer within that juristiction arrives to cite.  So, this is a whole lot of hooey!!

• Anonymous

  The primary consumers of the criminal justice system, Maine voters and taxpayers
  foot the bill for this massive unresponsive bureaucracy called law enforcement.
  More than ever we need to break through the Thin  Blue Line and take control
  and assert how we want the system to operate.
  Volunteer civilian review police boards with subpoena power would set the standards for how
  they want their laws enforced. The volunteer civilian review board would hire and fire personnel while investigating complaints of misconduct and incompetence.
  Instead of 3 rd party mercenaries telling us how to meet our needs for public safety the primary
  consumer of the system would take responsibility for their safety needs..

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Q4AP5EYCYRCGZGIJGWI6TLIUEA Tom

  “Houlton PD – you’re under arrest!”

  Yeah right, hoser.

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Q255WQVJTDKGY5HNDL5ZUCDFQI Rusty

  That’s just scary.  What would happen, and we all know it doesn’t happen (wink, wink), that if their investigators and officers are…….wrong!.    I agree with PI Guy……this is an enpowerment that belongs with the Maine State Police and the Dept of Public Safety.  We cannot have town cops running all over the state looking for someone or something that they think.  Go to MSP,  it’s the reason why they aren’t town cops.

• Anonymous

  here we go again. Do you have this same rambling on a cut and past speed button?

• PabMainer

  Sounds reasonable that if these officers respond to and have business matters in neighboring towns that do not have their own police depts. that they have the ability to operate with full law enforcement authority……it also seems reasonable to set some limits on where this authority extends to….and chief, IMHO, maybe you should discuss this with your neighboring towns prior to actually implementing this added authority……

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Q255WQVJTDKGY5HNDL5ZUCDFQI Rusty

  I understand your respect for the man and appreciate your concerns.   But we ought not to have town cops running hell bent through out the state looking for suspected offenders.  Is the town that they patrol for better protected if they are 15 or 20 miles away?  Is it cost effective?, and finally I don’t understand why a town cop would have to chase anyone, considering today’s techno communication capabilities.

• Anonymous

  Either the Chief has no idea what he is talking about or the city was preventing the law from doing thier job. In maine you dont have to have special privliges to arrest outside of your town, city etc. If you see a crime (A,B,C or D crime) in your present, you dont make an arrest as a civilian…you make it as a cop. They dont NEED to have the sherrif dept or state police with them although it is recommened. Even a part time officer can arrest outside his employed town as a COP. However, the department policy my restrict them from taking action and just be a good witness

• Anonymous

  Try actually reading the article…

  The chief also stressed that Houlton officers would only be going in to neighboring communities if there was an emergency.“We are just here if [other agencies] need assistance,” Asselin told councilors. “This is for serious situations like a domestic violence case or a bad accident. I want them to be able to call on the Houlton Police Department. This isn’t for little harassment calls or something of that nature.”

• Anonymous

  Just chiming in to say police are civilians as well. Civilian is a distinction from military and regular people. Cops are regular people. The word Citizen is to make the difference between cops and the public. Military, Civilian, Citizen. 

• Anonymous

  Wouldn’t this actually help the consumers? I mean if Houlton and the State is paying two officers to make an arrest, wouldn’t it only make sense to make it so they only needed one? The Houlton officer would have to go either way so this will just let the MSP and Deputies to keep patrolling. Make sense to me but there again I don’t think the police are out to get me.

• Anonymous

  fair enough. Good point

• Anonymous

  Jenkins wonders if some officials would take issue with a police officer from
  another community showing up in their town to arrest someone?? Really? It’s not a pi**ing contest!

• Anonymous

  Can you spell p-o-l-i-c-e  s-t-a-t- e

• Anonymous

  Well goody- maybe the Houlton PD can solve the body in the freezer issue that has been unsolved for 30 years…..

• Anonymous

  This isn’t a good idea, I dont need some portland cop giving me crap if im carrying a knife on my belt in   south middleofnowhere maine.

• Anonymous

  Did you read the story??
  “The privilege, which is one that towns are allowed to grant under state law, only extends to Maine Criminal Justice Academy certified police officers”

  Seems the “State” already granted that kind of “Power”; only needed approval from the town.

  Personally, I think it’s a good idea to help out in surrounding towns, where Sheriff/MSP maybe 1/2hr or more away.  I live in an area that has no Local PD and the Sheriff’s Office is 1/2hr+ away.  Only one or two Deputies on patrol in the middle of the night, but 2 mins from our neighboring town that has a PD.  I would like to have the neighboring officers respond, w/ full authority, if I ever need assistance in the middle of the night.

  When seconds count, the MSP/SO is only 15-30 mins away.

  FB

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Q255WQVJTDKGY5HNDL5ZUCDFQI Rusty

  And, that probably leaves at least 2 of the town officers 15 to 30 miles away?   You know how it goes, they usually don’t go alone.  And if the town has only 1 full time patrol, then……what?   When seconds count is correct, but there are many times that there are two clocks ticking.

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_25LJ6KETIP5DVBAPMUYRGCCDTU Brandon D

  Yes.  Because those four Houlton cops will surely be cracking down on the civil liberties of us all.

• Anonymous

  yes,  because I’m sure that is going to happen.  A Portland cop is going to go to east bum F. Maine to give someone (that is not breaking the law) crap. 

• Anonymous

  They are gonna take that power too far.  Does than mean if they are in Portland they can arrest someone too

• Anonymous

  Wrong, 

• Anonymous

  Yes, but the small and not so small municipalities, already respond to assistance requests from the sister departments who need backup.  Nothing has changed, except now they can arrest the perp if need be.  The Police  Chief say his officers already respond if need be, so I don’t see how these “new powers” change the coverage of the original town(Houlton in this case).  Should local PDs not send officers to aide other departments who require assistance? Maybe tell the lone officer to wait for the MSP/SO to send help?

  FB

• Anonymous

  Not right off but in the future, ya, I see it happening.

• Anonymous

  “The privilege…only extends to Maine Criminal Justice Academy certified police officers. The certification comes after an extensive 18-week law enforcement training program.”

  18 hours is ‘extensive’?

• Anonymous

  Anyone know for sure how many full time cops Houlton has ? Iam just guessing probably 8 or 10 ?

  Last time I was in Houlton for a stay I picked up and read a copy of the local newspaper,In this paper they list an account of what every police officer is called out to investigate, what the complaint was  and what time it all happened.

  I noticed that most of the calls were for things such as speeders,fender benders,barking dogs and cows that got loose and were standing in the road. If the officers did respond to anything really serious it was never listed in the paper.

  More than likely the officers do not have enough to do to keep them busy patrolling  just in Houlton,so they mays as well expand their horizon’s. TO SERVE AND PROTECT.

• http://twitter.com/sectar114 THEAT

  Re-read your cut and paste. It is an extensive 18-WEEK law enforcement training program.”

• Anonymous

  I can see some off duty cowboy camping up north, and getting his city cop feathers ruffled when hes not the only one who has a gun and his testicles start shrinking.
   How many people have been arrested in bangor for ”illegal knives” this year?
   In rural maine you can legally walk down the side of the road with a shotgun slung over your shoulder and no one cares, if you tried that in portland they would harass you, confiscate your gun and maybe arrest you. 

• Anonymous

  some dude was doing that on rte 5 in Limerick a few years ago and a state or a deputy pulled up and shot him dead. justified by the AG’s office

• Buzlno

  I think that jmblake is talking to you….

• Buzlno

  I think there might be some confusion here between Limerick and the New Limerick mentioned in the article (just outside of Houlton) which I believe has only a Constable at most.

• Buzlno

  Limerick is in South Somewhere, nearer to Portland, both in the other Maine.
  NEW Limerick, next door to Houlton, is in The County (the subjects of the whole article).
  I think that a slower, more careful reading is in order……

• Anonymous

  4 x4 = 16 x 16 =256 etc. etc. etc. get the whole picture; it’s not just Houlton,  Waterville, Oakland, Winslow, Fairlield are all sworn Kennebec and Somerset county sherriffs as well as thier respective city P.D.’s where does it end?         

• Anonymous

  gestapo

• Anonymous

  history doesnt lie

• Anonymous

  Here are some groups around the country working to gain control and mandate
  direction for their safety needs in the community. Instead of the inmates running the asylum
  its time for the people who front the money for the paychecks to take control.
  See  http://books.google.com/books?id=pjdeQTU7th0C&pg=PA222&lpg=PA222&dq=eileen+luna+police&source=bl&ots=GZ2_FmlgEX&sig=V9bejOWk1SHntz6UGH1HD4d4Jf8&hl=en&ei=LeCoTvzyKOHt0gG_xdj3DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=12&ved=0CHEQ6AEwCw#v=onepage&q=eileen%20luna%20police&f=false

  also see
  1.  http://www.cabq.gov/council/completed-reports-and-studies/apd-oversight-mechanisms/iii-methodology

  2.  http://www.cabq.gov/council/completed-reports-and-studies/apd-oversight-mechanisms

• Anonymous

  my point exactly local police given state wide powers to arrest,than what do we need state police for now there’s a big big budget cutting tool

• Anonymous

  Guess they do have the authority Guy.  The state already gave them that power as long as their officers have the 18 weeks of training.  Should always do your research before you express an opinion not based on fact.  Are you a Private Investigator (PI-Guy) or from Presque Isle?  

• Anonymous

  no it isn’t. Ever notice in the center of the officers badge? The seal of Maine. Ask any cop out there. They dont need permission to arrest someone outside there town, jurisdiction. However, policey may get them in a jam.

• Anonymous

  I think your too f ascinated with cops, maybe you should join da force

• Anonymous

  You don’t really have to do ‘research.’  Usually you just need to read the article. 

• Anonymous

  I believe this is a good idea. This will allow quicker response times in neighboring communities and also will allow officers to do what they are sworn to do without having to stop at the town line.

• Anonymous

  This may be an alright deal but, the biggest problem I see in Maine law enforcement is the overlap of justidictions these departments have. True, they each have their little nitch in the field, But it just seems like it’s a little overkill. I think that Maine should look at how New Brunsick does things. They have a simpler system. Orgainzed towns have local police. All other policing is handled by the RCMP. All forest and game issues are handled by one Natural Resources Dept. All Corrections is handled by Canada Dept. of Corrections. All prisoner transport, court security, and civil process is handled by Sheriff’s Dept. Border security is handled by their version of Customs and Immigration. Very simple, no overlap, and few departments vieng for resources, manpower, and funds. What does Maine have? Local Police, Sheriff’s Dept.,MDOC, MSP, MDEA, P&P, Court Security, Warden Service, Forest Service, Border Patrol, and Homeland Security. I may even be missing a few. All with missions, and jurisdictions that overlap, and sometimes conflict. I think a stream lining of the law enforcement system in Maine should be looked at. For instance: Keep local law enforcement local. Combine the Sheriff’s Dept with the State police,  into one department to handle all unorganized townships and towns with no local enforcement, also do civil process, and court security. Hand over complete control of the Jails to MDOC, and include prisoner transport. Combine the Wardens Sevice and the Forest Service into one dept. Border Patrol and Homeland Security are federal so you can’t do anything with them, and MDEA and P&P are part of the state now. I think combining these depts, sharing resources ,and cutting out the overlap would go a lot farther in getting the job done, and would save tax dollars as well.

• Anonymous

  They must be jealous of their eager comrades in the U.S. Border Patrol. I know, I know, there must be simply hordes of Canadian/Canadien illegals sneaking over the border to take advantage of our wonderful health care system. 

  Just  the same, there’re also so many more Homeland Security agents now stationed along Maine’s northern border they often have nothing better to do than ride around with the local cops looking for domestic trouble they can apply their lethal skills to. 

  The Houlton police evidently want a piece of this wider action. 

• Anonymous

  Hey if someone is committing a crime near me or against me, I dont’ care who arrests them.  There is so much going on these days that we need all the protection we can get. I think it shouldn’t even be a question. If you are an officer that has the training to do your job, who cares where you do you it? Just do it.

• Anonymous

  Barney, here is your bullet.

• Anonymous

  I really fail to see a problem with this.  If the Police are investigating a crime against me or mine, they better be able to leave town and make an arrest.  If my house is burning down I want a big red truck to show up.  I don’t care what it says on the side.

• Anonymous

  It’s called mutual aid people. The fire departments do it as well. Should they stop doing that and let someone’s home burn down because, someone may sue the town?

• Anonymous

  The warden service can arrest you in the middleofnowhere Maine if you are carrying a knife and looking suspicious. Does it make a difference where he comes from?

• Anonymous

  Doesn’t Court Security fall under County Sheriff’s department? I thought it did but, I could be wrong.

• Anonymous

  That’s where some of the 9/11/01 bombers came from, or have you forgotten? They came through Maine from Canada but, no it’s the Canadians themselves, it’s some of the people that slip through their cracks as they do here.

• Anonymous

  usually at least 8 hours per day for 18 weeks.

• Anonymous

  They receive more comprehensive training than smaller departments do. I know for a fact that someone with a knife means something very different to a city cop as opposed to one who has worked in a more rural area. heres the mindset, I see signs all over the place in portland that say ”gun free zone”, the problem is they hold no legal weight because municipalities do not have the right to do that in maine. yet im sure the local police would arrest you if they caught you carrying there.

• Anonymous

  Sounds to me like Chief Asselin is the one who should be going to the Police Academy. TO TEACH OTHER CHIEFS HOW TO DO THEIR JOBS. Maybe he would like a job here in Bangor after we get a new city council voted in.

• Anonymous

  This is actually very common and doesn’t imply they have free reign to patrol all over the state.  It’s similar to the mutual assistance pacts fire departments have to back each other up.  It’s great to say that’s what the sheriff and troopers are for, but they aren’t always immediately available and cover a lot of area.  Would you want to wait for upwards of an hour for a deputy or trooper to come from the other side of the county while you are being beaten to death in a domestic situation when help could be a few minutes away?

• Anonymous

  Pretty sure he does….. druggies and pedophiles should be loved and rehabilitated – not sent to jail (rehab is free apparently)…. and there should be no police at all…. we should all police ourselves….   pretty sure he is reading the paper through utopian colored glasses

• Anonymous

  letterreader – a good friend of mine just went there (before attending the ridiculously difficult new State Trooper School) and it was a lot of work…

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Q255WQVJTDKGY5HNDL5ZUCDFQI Rusty

  Obviously not, but I wouldn’t want my local policeman getting shot and killed while responding to a call out of the jurisdiction.  Nor would I want my local police officer 20 miles away responding to an emergency while my neighbor is getting beat up or robbed, or the local supermarket is getting burgled as well.  And lastly, I would want the town the officer went to pay for that officer’s time. And given the nature of emergency calls, and the potential for violence, I would want that town to pay for the officer’s potential medical costs and expenses involved in the event of a catastrophic occurance.

  There are many, many towns that probably have the need and complain about additional coverage. These towns need to resolve it”s issue themselves, succintly, buck up and hire a part time deputy. A town ought not depend upon it’s neighbor to solve it’s public safety concerns. In my opinion, this is a very dangerous precedent, in relation to financials and officer’s safety . The authority; according to the article, gives them statewide jurisdiction….statewide? I don’t want the cops I help pay for in, say, Presque Isle at a standoff, leaving my town inadaquately protected.

• Anonymous

  This is a very slippery slope that Houlton is going into.

• Anonymous

  Sounds like in the end precious monetary resources will be saved. As a taxpayer, I applaud this.

• Anonymous

  Yep. The only ones who have a right to complain are the bad guys who don’t want to get caught. Who needs a criminal getting off the hook because he was arrested by an officer lacking jurisdictional police powers?

• Anonymous

  another step for the local gestapo…..let the jack booted thugs !     himmler would be proud !

• Anonymous

  Simple enough, go to your town council meeting and pony up the extra cash, so there are always enough LEOs on duty at all times.  Do the same for your local Fire and EMS while your at it.

  For most small towns, there just isn’t enough cash to have a whole Department on staff all the time.  That is why they have mutual assistance agreements. 

  It’s not like they will be patrolling the streets of Portland or something like that.  This only gives them arrest power at calls they are already responding to anyhow.

• Anonymous

  Point taken..but to me  reading the article would be part of the research..and since I don’t always believe all I read in the paper.. (reporters don’t often do their research), I check things out for myself.. Thanks for engaging me however.. :-)

• Anonymous

  I wasn’t referring to you doing research.  I meant that if the people you were responding to had actually read the article they couldn’t have been saying the things they were saying.   It is not uncommon for some people to spout off with their usual opinions when they obviously have not read the article upon which they are allegedly commenting.

• http://twitter.com/TheGuardianMH The Guardian

  The thing is that I can see where it could be a problem in drug trafficking cases.  People pass over city and county borders up in that area so easily.   Many of the towns don’t have their own police forces or they are very small.  Jurisdictions get confusing.   We obviously have a problem with crime in this state.  We need more police trying to control the lawlessness that is happening. 

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Q255WQVJTDKGY5HNDL5ZUCDFQI Rusty

  Thats not the point.  The point is simple, as you have said …cash is the problem.  Who pays the benefits to the family if this officer is killed in a neighboring town?  Who pays for medical if he is injured rushing to a call in a neighboring town?  The cash strapped town he is responding to?  Creativity can lead to wonderful things….like federal grants for these for part time patrol funding and others.   Would you expect your neighbor to pay for and repair your water line?   Why should a town be allowed to have it’s neighbor solve it’s problems?  Fire and EMS are under mutual aid agreements, and yes, towns pay for them, and most towns have volunteer departments.  This is a bad precedent.