The girlfriend of a Hancock County man killed by an impaired driver has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against three police officers who stopped the driver before the fatal crash.
Before the April 2024 crash in Addison, Nicholas Libby was allowed to go on his way after he was pulled over for erratic driving by Ellsworth and Hancock County police. About an hour later, Libby veered over the Route 1 centerline in Steuben and struck a vehicle driven by David Worcester, of Lamoine, killing Worcester and his dog.
Lisa McGlothlin, Worcester’s girlfriend and his estate’s personal representative, has filed a federal civil rights suit against the officers in the stop. The suit also names as defendants the City of Ellsworth and Hancock County.
The lawsuit, filed April 10, alleges the officers violated McGlothlin’s civil rights of being “free from state-created dangers,” according to the suit. The complaint also alleges a wrongful death claim and was filed against the officers in their individual and official capacities.
McGlothlin’s attorney, Walter McKee, declined to comment on the suit. McKee is requesting a jury trial.
The suit accuses the three law enforcement officers of releasing Libby “to return to a public roadway” after the traffic stop, despite signs of intoxication and evidence that he had violated his probation conditions.
Zachary Chandler, the Ellsworth police officer who initiated the stop after a 911 caller reported Libby’s erratic driving, had “recognized that Libby’s pupils appeared to be constricted, consistent with a sign of central nervous system depressant use,” according to the lawsuit.
Chandler, joined by Sergeant Chad Wilmot and Deputy John Stanley, of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, searched Libby’s vehicle and found the Addison man in possession of cannabis and prescribed Clonazepam, a controlled substance.
Libby’s medication had been filled two days prior to the collision, yet, at the time of the crash, “only sixty-three Clonazepam tablets remained, reflecting significant overuse of his prescribed medication,” according to the lawsuit.
“Despite the facts that Libby showed signs of drug impairment, possessed drugs in his vehicle, was on probation with drug-related search and test conditions, had a history of drug use, he was affirmatively sent back out on the roadway by law enforcement officers, with merely a warning for erratic operation,” the lawsuit says.
Libby was on probation at the time of the collision, which barred him from using or possessing drugs. Although law enforcement contacted Libby’s probation officer during the stop, he was released after his vehicle was searched, according to the suit.
After his release, Libby drove his maroon Nissan Rouge northbound on Route 1. Two more 911 callers reported his erratic driving before he swerved over the centerline, killing Worcester and his black labrador, Macy.
After the crash, Libby tested positive for cannabis, benzodiazepines, fentanyl and buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid addiction.
Libby later pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to serve 15 years in a state prison with all but five years suspended and four years of probation, according to the Ellsworth American.
Amy Kenney, Ellsworth’s communications director, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
