Washington County’s chief law enforcement officer, who last year asked county residents to protest the county commission’s proposal to remedy a budget crisis with cuts to his department, plans to retire at the end of December, according to his chief deputy, who is running to replace him.
Barry Curtis, elected sheriff of the sprawling rural county in 2014, will step down at the end of this year, his chief deputy Michael Crabtree said. Crabtree is vying for his position in a so far uncontested race. Voters will elect the county’s next sheriff in November.
Curtis did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Bangor Daily News over the past few days.
The election comes amid a challenging period for Washington County law enforcement: last year’s budget crisis, resulting from years of financial mismanagement on the county level, ended with reductions in funding for the sheriff’s office. The county commissioners cut one patrol position from the sheriff’s department and reduced uniform allowances, fitness incentives and the number of replacement cruisers from two to one.
In December, Curtis, who served as a state trooper for 25 years prior to becoming sheriff, called out two county commissioners over their support of cuts to his department.
Curtis, a Republican, replaced former sheriff Donnie Smith, who held the position since his 2006 election, after a contentious campaign that resulted in a lawsuit against Smith over his handling of the department’s personnel records.
During his time as sheriff, Curtis advocated for the county to establish its own prosecution district, as Washington and Hancock counties have shared a District Attorney since 1975.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office oversees more than 3,200 square miles with the help of two tribal forces and four full time police departments, Crabtree said. He estimated a single deputy is responsible for covering a little under 1,000 square miles of county land, although a lot of the county is made up of unorganized territories and dirt roads.
Maine State Police have also reduced their presence in rural areas, focusing on specialized team operations and shifting patrol responsibilities to local police departments, who have struggled to keep up.
Crabtree is the only candidate so far who has filed to run for sheriff with the state’s ethics commission. He has not heard of anyone that is planning on challenging him, he said.
The deputy chief has served in law enforcement for over 32 years, he said. Crabtree started with the sheriff’s office in 1992 but held a couple of positions outside the department as well, including assignments as an officer for the Passamaquoddy tribe and the state’s drug enforcement agency.
“We’re certainly going to continue to commit resources to our drug problem here in Washington County,” Crabtree said. “We’re going to continue to concentrate on public safety, and I really just want to make sure that Washington County is well represented, supported and respected.”
