ELLSWORTH, Maine — Two months after the Ellsworth police chief and city manager rear-ended a vehicle while driving a cruiser, the police car still needs $8,600 in repairs, according to the deputy chief.
The 2022 Ford cruiser was damaged on Oct. 12 on its passenger side when Glenn Moshier, Ellsworth’s city manager and police chief, struck another vehicle. Moshier was behind two other vehicles in the left-hand turn lane from High Street onto Main Street. The cars in front of him started moving. but after the first and second cars stopped, Moshier rear-ended the second car when he “looked away for a second,” according to the police report.
Despite the damage, the cruiser is still operable but needs to be fixed before it is put into rotation by the department’s patrol officers, Deputy Chief Troy Bires said Monday.
“The car hasn’t been repaired yet,” Bires said. “We are waiting on parts.”
Neither Moshier nor the driver of the other car, a 2014 Toyota sport utility vehicle, were hurt in the collision. The vehicle in front of the Toyota was not struck in the crash.
The crash was investigated by Ellsworth Police Sgt. Chad Wilmot.
Although some police-involved crashes are investigated by other law enforcement agencies, not all are, Bires said. He said factors such as whether there were any injuries or if another agency has an officer who is closer are considered when determining if another department should respond.
“Our policy states that a supervisor can investigate an accident [involving a cruiser],” Bires said.
Besides Moshier, Bires and Wilmot, supervisors in the department include Capt. Shawn Willey, Sgt. David Lord, and corporals Robert Angelo, Shawn Merchant, and Kelvin Mote.
