A Somerset County sheriff’s deputy is barred from possessing weapons through the rest of the year, though it’s unclear if he’s still employed by the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Stephen “Dan” Armiger was issued a temporary weapons restriction order, also known as the “yellow-flag law,” on Aug. 18, Somerset County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney told the Bangor Daily News.
That order was extended for 90 days on Oct. 10, Maloney said. The extended order will be in place until the start of 2026.
This is the first time it’s been publicly known that a law enforcement officer is the subject of a yellow flag order. The law does not carve out specific instructions for what happens when an officer is the subject of the restriction, leaving it to the discretion of agencies and the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.
It is unknown if Armiger is still employed by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Dale Lancaster did not immediately respond to comment.
Armiger did not respond to an email sent to his work address.
The yellow flag law, which went into effect in 2020, allows a judge to temporarily remove weapons from people who may pose a danger to themselves or others. The law has been used more than 900 times since the mass shooting in Lewiston in October 2023. Prior to the shooting it had been used fewer than 100 times.
The temporary restriction was issued the same day the Maine State Police responded to a dispute involving Armiger. Troopers went to a home in Detroit shortly before 2 a.m. that day at the request of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office because the dispute involved a deputy, Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss said.
The case was sent to the district attorney’s office, Moss said. There is no evidence of criminal conduct from Armiger, Maloney said.
Armiger joined the sheriff’s office in May 2018 after graduating from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, according to a Facebook post.
