BAR HARBOR—I hope you’ll forgive me for this piece because it’s a bit more feature than news and there’s a bit of self-insertion here. That’s because right around the same time as my books hit the New York Times bestseller list, I had a life crisis. What if this was it, the peak? What if I never sold another book again? My resume would just have a giant block of nothing on it that said ‘trying to write another book.’ Panicked, I applied for a part-time dispatching job in Mount Desert for fire, police, and ambulance.
If it were not for Chief Willis, Leonard Leo would have succeeded in having me arrested for my First Amendment Protected and Maine Criminal Code compliant 'google Leonard Leo = Corrupt Courts' chalk messaging project. (Initiated in response to the Leo involved arrest of Eli Durand McDonnell for exercising his constitutional rights.)
Chief Willis and Capt. Kerns resisted pressure from Leo and from former Bar Harbor Town Manager Kevin Sutherland (with the official support of the Bar Harbor Town Council) to have me arrested on a cherry picked misrepresentation of Criminal Mischief law. And I do not know how many other influential people may also have allied themselves with Leo.
Chief Willis and Capt. Kerns were also under pressure from a few police officers to charge me with a crime. It could not have been easy for them. And they had so much else to do. But they were diligent and considered in protecting my rights. And they were kind to me. The only town officials who cared at all about the law, the facts, and their official responsibilities . . . and respected me as a member of the community. They exemplify and personify community policing and law enforcement at its best. I have to believe that had Chief Willis or Capt. Kerns been consulted Eli would not have been arrested.
It is a great loss to us for Chief Willis to be retiring. But it is another mark of truly good leadership to prepare for the transfer of authority. And we are very fortunate to have Capt. Kerns.
ThankYou Chief Willis and all best wishes for everything you do next. From strength to strength.
If it were not for Chief Willis, Leonard Leo would have succeeded in having me arrested for my First Amendment Protected and Maine Criminal Code compliant 'google Leonard Leo = Corrupt Courts' chalk messaging project. (Initiated in response to the Leo involved arrest of Eli Durand McDonnell for exercising his constitutional rights.)
Chief Willis and Capt. Kerns resisted pressure from Leo and from former Bar Harbor Town Manager Kevin Sutherland (with the official support of the Bar Harbor Town Council) to have me arrested on a cherry picked misrepresentation of Criminal Mischief law. And I do not know how many other influential people may also have allied themselves with Leo.
Chief Willis and Capt. Kerns were also under pressure from a few police officers to charge me with a crime. It could not have been easy for them. And they had so much else to do. But they were diligent and considered in protecting my rights. And they were kind to me. The only town officials who cared at all about the law, the facts, and their official responsibilities . . . and respected me as a member of the community. They exemplify and personify community policing and law enforcement at its best. I have to believe that had Chief Willis or Capt. Kerns been consulted Eli would not have been arrested.
It is a great loss to us for Chief Willis to be retiring. But it is another mark of truly good leadership to prepare for the transfer of authority. And we are very fortunate to have Capt. Kerns.
ThankYou Chief Willis and all best wishes for everything you do next. From strength to strength.