LEWISTON — The Lewiston police chief will not serve on Mayor Carl Sheline’s new Advisory Committee on Community Safety after the City Council directed city administration not to allow any city staff to serve.
When reached Friday, Chief David St. Pierre said the decision for his removal from the ad hoc committee “was simply due to the will of the City Council.”
St. Pierre was one of 13 appointees on the committee announced last week by Sheline and council president Linda Scott, but the committee has since been criticized by the Lewiston police union and several councilors due to its membership.
Lewiston police Chief David St. Pierre addresses the media on Aug. 1 regarding misinformation about the Knox Street shooting investigation. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal file
During Tuesday’s meeting, Lewiston police union president Tom Murphy spoke out against the committee’s membership, which he said included a convicted felon. Several councilors said the committee is nothing more than “political grandstanding” with a “pre-determined” outcome of forming a citizen review board to review alleged police misconduct.
A majority of the council then agreed to direct city administration to limit city resources dedicated to the committee, including the possibility of not allowing any city staff to serve.
In an email to councilors on Thursday, City Administrator Heather Hunter said administration met with St. Pierre and all agreed “there are concerns about some committee members selected and want this to a be positive process to continue to make public safety improvements in our community.”
“I personally feel strongly that there should be a member of staff serving on the committee in order to actively participate in the discussion,” Hunter said, but added that the decision was ultimately the council’s.
When announcing the committee, a joint statement from Sheline and Scott said the recent public forums on community safety made it “clear there is more work to be done to improve communication and cooperation among the city’s residents and between residents and the city.” It said the committee would be tasked with “advising and making recommendations to the City Council and municipal staff on the subject of community safety in Lewiston,” but did not provide further details on potential policies that might be discussed.
The committee has not met yet, and is only advisory, meaning any policy changes forwarded must ultimately be approved by the council.
Sheline said Friday that the advisory committee was created “in good faith,” and that he’s “disappointed with this unfortunate turn of events.”
“The goal of this committee is for everyone to come together for a candid discussion about community safety in Lewiston and how to best move forward,” he said. “There is no predetermined agenda or outcome. In fact, one of the reasons I created this committee was to improve cooperation and communication between the community and the police.”
During Tuesday’s council meeting, two councilors said Sheline turned the community safety issue into a political one when he announced a forum two days prior to one already scheduled by police officials. The forums were called in response to a recent uptick in violence, including a Knox Street shooting that left two dead.
The forums were at times raucous, but the implementation of a citizen review board was mentioned several times, as was the need for more parent accountability and better communication between the community and police.
Councilor Lee Clement said Tuesday he was “disappointed that any city resources of any type will be allowed to be used in this venture,” and that the chief was “Shanghai’d” into serving and “will have to sit and be the target of what can be logically seen as the slings and arrows of hate.”
He also said St. Pierre told him he did not want to serve on the committee, but felt he had to.
The committee will be co-chaired by Scott and Abdikadir Negeye of Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services, and will also feature Superintendent of Schools Jake Langlais, Androscoggin County District Attorney Neil McLean Jr., Lewiston attorney Jack Clifford, Tree Street Youth Executive Director Julia Sleeper, City Councilor Scott Harriman, School Committee member Ashley Medina and several others.
One appointee, La Michael Gildersleeve, has a criminal record that was referenced by councilors and Murphy. Gildersleeve now works as a regional program director for Youth-LED Justice, a restorative justice program that works with young people who are in trouble with the law, school or community, according to its website.
Sheline said Gildersleeve “has paid his debt to society and his justice experience is a valuable asset to the committee.”
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