Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce says he’s still waiting on more details about the arrest of a corrections officer recruit by ICE.
At a Thursday press conference, Joyce said the recruit was pulled from his vehicle and arrested Wednesday night in Portland.
Joyce and an eyewitness said the vehicle was left unsecured with the lights on, which Joyce referred to as “bush-league policing.”
An eyewitness to the arrest told the Portland Press Herald the man didn’t appear to be violent with officers, but he said he heard the high-pitched noise of a Taser.
Joyce says ICE is a legitimate agency with the legal right to enforce federal law but says he’s now questioning their intentions after the arrest.
According to the sheriff’s office, the man had attended an immigration hearing in Texas in November and was given permission to work in Maine until 2029.
Joyce said he spoke with an ICE supervisor who told him the recruit is in the country illegally but didn’t offer any other information.
ICE has not said what charges the man is facing.
