Two law enforcement officers in two states tried to do the right thing — one reported his sheriff's misconduct, the other refused an unlawful order — and both got hammered by the system built to protect the brass, not the truth.
In Oxford County, Maine, three veteran deputies filed formal complaints Aug. 28 with the Maine Human Rights Commission alleging violations of the Maine Whistleblowers' Protection Act. Sgt. Timothy Ontengco, Cpl. Richard Murray, and Detective Lt. Justin Brown say Sheriff Christopher Wainwright, Chief Deputy James Urquhart, and Maj. Dana Dana Thompson unleashed a sustained campaign of retaliation after they reported unlawful conduct and cooperated with a county-ordered investigation that led commissioners to petition Gov. Janet Mills for Wainwright's removal in February 2024.
The retaliation was not subtle. According to the deputies' attorneys, Ontengco was demoted from sergeant to corporal. Murray was suspended without pay, demoted to deputy sheriff, and targeted with GPS tracking of his movements in 2025 — including surveillance while he sat at a fairgrounds using available internet to write a report. Brown was demoted to deputy sheriff and suspended without pay for 120 days. He remains on administrative leave. Murray wrote that he was also unfairly denied a promotion and carried a written reprimand for 18 months before the late County Administrator Don Durrah asked Wainwright to rescind it.
Wainwright told the Portland Press Herald he had not seen the complaints and could not discuss personnel matters publicly, noting that
