Three Oxford County deputies filed formal complaints alleging violations of the Maine Whistleblowers’ Protection Act against Sheriff Christopher Wainwright, two of his administrators and Oxford County commissioners.

The complaints alleging retaliation were filed with the Maine Human Rights Commission on Aug. 28, which is not available to the public. The Commission is expected to investigate the allegations in a confidential process that could take up to six months. The claimants are represented by attorneys Ali Garmey Chardon of Garmey Law in Portland and Michael Cunniff of McCloskey, Mina, Cunniff & Frawley of Portland.

Three deputies, Timothy Ontengco, Richard Murray and Justin Brown, who are veteran law enforcement officers, the latter a candidate for Oxford County sheriff on Nov. 3, claim they faced severe retaliation after reporting unlawful or improper conduct by Wainwright and cooperating with a county-ordered investigation that led county commissioners to petition Gov. Janet Mills for his removal in February 2024.

All three deputies remain employed at the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.

The deputies, which have more than 72 years of law enforcement experience between them, claim there was a sustained campaign of workplace retaliation by Sheriff Wainwright, Chief Deputy James Urquhart, and Major Dana Thompson, which included unwarranted internal investigations, GPS surveillance, unpaid suspensions, and demotions.

According to a press release from the deputies’ attorneys, Sgt. Ontengco was demoted to the rank of corporal; Cpl. Murray was suspended without pay and demoted to deputy sheriff; and Det. Lt. Brown was demoted to deputy sheriff and suspended without pay for a total of 120 days, and remains on administrative leave.

“I have not yet received copies of any complaints and therefore have not had had the opportunity to review them,” Wainwright said. “Because these matters involve personnel issues involving employees in my office, Maine law limits what I can discuss publicly. While some of the individuals involved have been active political opponents of my administration and one is currently a candidate against me in the upcoming election, I do not believe it is appropriate to litigate personnel matters or political disagreements in the media.”

Wainwright went on to say that he is “confident that the facts will speak for themselves through the process.”

In Brown’s statement to the Maine Human Rights Commission, he wrote that in November 2022, he and colleagues reported to the now late county Administrator Don Durrah alleged misconduct by Wainwright, including missing firearms, lack of accountability, improper use of GPS tracking, untruthfulness, and harassment, and failure to hold certain employees accountable for misconduct. Among other complaints, Brown believes he was unfairly retaliated against.

Murray repeated those allegations against Wainwright and wrote in his statment that he was retaliated against by being unfairly denied a promotion. In 2021, he was issued a written reprimand that stood for 18 months before Wainwright was asked by Durrah to rescind it. He also cooperated in “good faith” throughout 2023 and 2024 the board of commissioners that led to commissioners filing a four-part removal complaint for Wainwright.

He also stated that he was targeted with GPS to track his movements in 2025 and surveillance while he was at the fairgrounds using available internet to write a report.

Ontengco believes he was retaliated against for questioning why a deputy allegedly under surveillance under the FBI was not disciplined like he should have been and not finding fault with another deputy under his supervision along with participating in the investigation against Wainwright. He was also cited for unrelated policy violations and suspended more than once, and issued a negative performance evaluation, and demoted, he wrote.

Wainwright denied retaliation against the deputies after the Sun Journal questioned him about it.

“This is not retaliation. This is about accountability,” he said. “These were serious incidents … and some of which involved death of Oxford County residents.”

The deputies claim that they repeatedly requested protection and independent investigation from the Oxford Board of Commissioners but the board refused their requests, according to his complaint.

 “We take these complaints seriously and have retained counsel regarding them,” county Administrator Zane Loper wrote in an email. “We will not be making a further statement at this time.”

In February 2024, the Oxford County commissioners filed a 10-page complaint to Gov. Mills requesting the sheriff’s removal. Wainwright was accused of trading or transferring firearms from the department’s evidence locker without proper documentation, supervising school resource officers who lacked proper certification, and inappropriately pressuring a deputy to show leniency on a traffic stop.

Gov. Mills appointed retired Maine Supreme Court Justice Donald Alexander to conduct a hearing and provide an advisory opinion. Alexander recommended against removal, finding that the actions did not violate state laws or a code of ethics to the level required.

Mills declined in May 2024 to remove Wainwright based on Alexander’s advisory opinion.

“I believe the evidence presented falls short of satisfying what must be a high standard for the governor’s removal from office of a popularly elected sheriff,” Mills wrote in a letter to Wainwright and county commissioners.

“The evidence does not indicate that this single incident was part of a larger pattern of behavior, and, as a result, while handled poorly, I do not believe it is sufficient cause to justify the sanction of removal from a popularly elected office,” Mills wrote.

Mills wrote at the time that her decision “should not be viewed as a vindication of Sheriff Wainwright. The hearing record shows that he has made mistakes and acted intemperately on occasion,” Mills wrote. “In my view, the voters of Oxford County should be the ultimate judge of the sheriff on these matters when and if he puts his name before them for reelection in the future.”

The only commissioner on the Oxford County board still serving who was involved with the request to Gov. Mills to remove Wainwright is Commissioner Timothy Turner, a retired state trooper. He is not seeking re-election this year.

“Our clients went into law enforcement because they care deeply about fair treatment under the law for everyone, without regard to personal connections,” said attorney Ali Garmey Chardon, who represents the three complainants wrote in a release. “They are simply asking for that fair treatment, but instead are being punished for reporting misconduct. That’s neither fair nor legal, and it doesn’t represent a professional law enforcement culture.”

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