Killed in Maine, a Controversial Police Shooting

Here is a link of this article on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hrrlEm2sLCk

Killed in Maine, a Controversial Police Shooting

By Joshua Gray, PI from Boston, MA

Vassalboro, Maine - A girl is Killed by the Police. She was the passenger in a vehicle driven by a man who just committed armed burglary. In a desperate attempt to escape from the police, the man crashed into a police cruiser and two Troopers shot and killed Kadhar Bailey and Ambrosia ‘Amber’ Fagre. The incident garnered media attention and once again a controversial Police involved shooting was in the News. Maine State Trooper Jeff Parks fired the shot that killed Amber Fagre and Lt Scott Ireland fired the shot that killed Kadhar Bailey. After nearly a year long Attorney General’s investigation, the officers were cleared of all wrongdoing. This was an all too familiar outcome. In the entire history of Maine, every police involved shooting has been found to be justified.

Right from the beginning, most people assumed this was a ‘good shoot’ and the police officers did nothing wrong. However when you take a closer look, not everything is how it seems. First we must look at the events that led to the shooting and also the investigation that was conducted to clear them. When two people are killed, this is the least we can do. 

It's important to start this article by disclosing that I have a history with Lt Scott Ireland, the officer who killed Kadhar Bailey and believe him to be a dirty cop. My interest in this shooting was influenced by that belief. Prior to the killings I repeatedly warned he was a bad cop who would eventually kill someone. In fact, I wrote articles, posted on social media and filed an internal affairs complaint against him to prevent this exact thing from happening. When I learned that he killed someone, I was overcome with intense emotions that I didn’t do more to warn people. It's hard to describe the guilt you feel when someone who you predicted would kill, actually kills a fellow human. I have provided links to the other articles at the bottom. 

Kadhar Bailey was a self employed roofer from Gardiner, Maine. I was told that he was a hard worker who was proud to be a small businessman. However he had a dark side. Like so many young people in Maine, he had become addicted to drugs and alcohol. His roofing business was struggling and the persistent call of addition led him down a dark path to the rural town of Vassalboro, Maine. Some say that he went to this town with a young 18 year old girl, known to her friends as Ambrosia ‘Amber’ Fagre. Exactly how Amber ended up in his vehicle as a passenger is not clear. Amber’s boyfriend Nick Penny claims that she liked to hitchhike and was picked up by Kadhar to get a ride back to the Augusta area. Kadhar’s relative, who wishes to not be named, claims that Amber and Kadhar were drug buddies who would get high together. Regardless of how they both ended up in the same vehicle, the events of that winter day would end with Amber fighting for her life and Kadhar dead. 

Kadhar parked his vehicle, a Dodge Durango, that he had borrowed from his uncle, at a turnaround point on Arnold Rd in Vassalboro. He left Amber in the vehicle and walked through snow and forest to a residential house. He walked to the home of Richard Browne and knocked on the door. He offered to shovel Mr. Browne’s roof for $100. When Mr Browne declined the offer, he watched as Kadhar Bailey walked away from the house. Moments later, Mr Browne heard sounds coming from his garage. He discovered Mr. Bailey in the garage and was then allegedly held at gunpoint. Mr Bailey tied his arms and legs and put him in the basement. Mr. Bailey proceeded to ransack his house over several hours. He finally stole Mr Brownes pick up truck and departed the house after threatening to kill. There is little question that Mr. Bailey committed a burglary, tied up the homeowner and stole a truck on this day. If Kadhar Bailey had lived, he would most likely be serving a lengthy prison sentence for his actions. 

Meanwhile, Lt Scott Ireland of the Maine State Police was returning home. He lived on Arnold Rd only a half mile from the turnaround point where the Dodge Durango was parked. A neighbor informed Lt Ireland, who was off duty and wearing civilian clothing, of the ‘suspicious’ Dodge Durango parked down the road. Lt Ireland put on his police belt and jacket, hopped in his unmarked cruiser and went to the area. He observed Amber Fagre slumped over in the passenger seat. He noticed the vehicle was running and feared she was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. He knocked on the window and was able to get her attention. Lt Ireland discovered that she was ‘out of it’. Miss Fagre told Lt Ireland that she was waiting for her boyfriend to return and gave several names including ‘Nick, Brian and Hunter’ but could not give a last name. She never mentioned Kadhar’s first name. Sgt. Galen Estes of the Kennebec County Sheriff's office arrived on scene. Lt Ireland spotted footprints in the snow leading to Mr. Richard Browne’s house and attempted to reach Mr Browne on the phone. When he could not reach him, he called relatives. When nobody could reach Mr. Browne, Lt Ireland decided to go investigate and left Sgt Estes to watch Amber. It should be noted that for Lt Ireland to know who lived in the direction of the footprints, know the homeowner’s phone number and further to know his relatives phone numbers, it seems logical to assume Lt Ireland was friends with Mr Browne. 

Lt Ireland received a call from a nephew of Mr Browne, who informed him that his uncle had been robbed at gunpoint and tied up. Lt Ireland spotted Mr Brown’s truck pulled off the road and observed footprints in the snow. Because Lt Ireland lived in & knew the area, he believed the footprints would lead back to where the Dodge Durango was parked. Back at the Dodge Durango, Chief Mark Brown of the Vassalboro Maine Police Department had arrived on scene. Sgt Estes decided to move a few police vehicles that were blocking the narrow dead end road while Chief Brown watched Amber. Drugs were discovered in the vehicle with Amber, however Chief Brown had not arrested, moved her to a police cruiser, called for an Ambulance or made any effort to get her out of the Dodge Durango. While Sgt Estes was moving a police vehicle, Lt Ireland was radioing to Chief Brown that an armed suspect may be walking in his direction. Chief brown looked and saw Kadhar Bailey walking toward him and saw what he believed to be a gun in his hands. Chief brown moved from the passenger side of the Durango to the driver side to seek cover. He had ordered Mr Bailey to stop, however Mr Bailey continued to approach. Simultaneously, Trooper Jeff Parks of Maine State Police, arrived just down the road. Chief Brown discharged his weapon and got behind a snow banking. Chief Brown then heard a loud sound, he believed it to be gunfire, however could have been Kadhar Bailey closing the Dodge Durango’s Door as he entered. 

Trooper Jeff Parks heard the gunfire and stopped his police vehicle in the middle of the road, blocking the only point of departure for Mr Bailey and exited the vehicle for cover. Mr Bailey accelerated the Dodge Durango with Amber Fagre in the passenger seat. Trooper Parks fired several rounds and the Dodge Durango crashed into the police cruiser that was blocking the road. The impact was enough to deploy the airbags of the police vehicle and push it back 50 feet. However the airbags did not deploy in the Durango. It seems clear that Mr Bailey was trying to escape the police and ‘ramming’ the empty police cruiser that was blocking the road was his only option to achieve that objective. Both Chief Brown and Trooper Parks had failed to stop or hit Mr Bailey with their gunfire. However trooper Parks had hit Amber Fagre with a round and she was now bleeding and injured in the passenger seat. Trooper Parks claims that he did not know there was a passenger in the vehicle and did not see a passenger. This seems curious as Lt Ireland, Sgt Estes and Chief Brown all were aware she was in the vehicle and there had to be radio traffic about Miss Fagre being in the vehicle. Regardless, she was in the vehicle and would die as a result of gunshot injuries. 

Lt Scott Ireland had arrived at the scene and observed Mr Bailey with a hand out the window, he ordered Mr Bailey to show his hands and then observed a series of quick movements toward the center console area of the vehicle. Lt Ireland interpreted this as Mr Bailey reaching for a gun, however could have been Mr Bailey noticing that Amber was shot and bleeding and reaching over to help her. Lt Ireland fired his weapon at Mr Bailey and killed him. Mr Kadhar Bailey died at the scene and Amber Fagre was rushed to a hospital where she later died. 

After looking into this Police involved shooting in my spare time, its my opinion that neither Kadhar Bailey or Amber Fagre had to die that day. I base this on the information that I have learned through talking with multiple people, reading newspaper articles and reviewing the Attorney General's report on the shooting. Lt Ireland’s career is marked with one instance after another of taking the law into his own hands. He has a pattern of making himself Judge, Jury and Executioner. I am convinced that Mr Baileys fate was determined the moment Lt. Ireland left the side of Amber Fagre. Leaving Amber when she was clearly high on drugs speaks volumes in regard to Lt Ireland’s motivation. Rather than use his cell phone or police radio to ask another officer to investigate his neighbors house, Lt Ireland decided he had to do it. This demonstrates, in my opinion,  that Lt Ireland put zero value on Ambers life and thought he was the only police officer in Maine qualified to catch the bad guy. If Lt Ireland had not left, both Amber and Kadhar would still be alive in my opinion. This entire incident could have been avoided if Lt Ireland’s ego was held in check and he simply asked another officer to check out Mr Browne's house. However his actions are 100% consistent with someone who routinely elevates himself to Judge, Jury and Executioner. This is why I believe that he is a dirty cop and danger to the people of Maine. This is what led me to predict that he would kill someone. 

When it comes to the killing of Amber Fagre, I find that multiple mistakes were made that led to her death. These mistakes were avoidable and it is my opinion that she did not have to die that day. Lt Scott Ireland should never have left Miss Fagre after making contact with her. He should have remained by her side until an ambulance took her away or she was arrested. When he saw the footprints in the snow leading to his neighbors house, a neighbor who he was believed to be friends with, he should have ‘called it in’ and let another officer investigate it. When Chief Brown and Sgt Estes learned of the drugs in the possession of Amber Fagre, she should have been handcuffed and moved to a patrol car so the crime scene could be preserved and a detailed search of the Dodge Durango could be conducted. When Mr Bailey approached the Dodge Durango, Chief Brown should have been able to stop him before he entered the vehicle and smashed into a police cruiser. Sgt Estes, who was moving a vehicle at the time, should have helped Chief Brown engage Mr Bailey and stop him from entering the vehicle. Finally Trooper Parks should have known a passenger was in the vehicle. These glaring mistakes should not be ignored when looking at this shooting. They directly led to the death of Amber Fagre. In my opinion, both Amber and Kadhar would still be alive today if Lt Scott Ireland had simply followed standard police protocol and used his cell phone or police radio to ask another officer to investigate his neighbors house. This mistake led to both deaths in my opinion. 

I endeavored to research this shooting with an open mind and let the facts guide me. It is not easy to break through the ‘blue wall of silence’ after a police shooting and I knew that I would have to take an unconventional approach to getting information. I attempted several Freedom of Information requests, however they were pointless. I received responses that, ‘we cannot release information about an ongoing investigation’. So I used the only tool available to me, social media. I formed educated theories about the shooting and posted them onto social media in the hope people would contact me with information to prove my theory was true or false. I have used this technique in the past and it is a well established lead generating investigative method used by police and investigators for many years now. 

I noticed the police were not admitting that Lt Ireland lived next to where the shooting happened. So I posted to social media that it happened ‘right outside Lt Ireland's House’ I received credible information that I was right and confirmed via online searches that he did indeed live on Arnold Rd, the road where the shooting took place. The Police later confirmed to me the shooting happened ½ mile from Lt Ireland’s house. 

I assumed Lt Ireland was off duty at the time of the shooting and noticed the police and news were not telling people that. So I posted to social media that Lt Ireland was off duty and possibly drinking. Many cops start drinking after a long shift. Lt Ireland is most likely of Irish heritage and that seems to be a reasonable question to ask. Was he drinking? The State Police eventually confirmed that he was off duty, but denied he was drinking. In fact they sent me an affidavit of Lt Ireland stating that he has never drank alcohol in his entire life. But they also confirmed, by omission, that he was never given a scientific test for drugs or alcohol. They just took his word for it. This was a huge oversight by the investigators looking into the shooting. When a truck driver gets into a fender bender, he has his blood drawn and tested. A cop can kill someone and no scientific test is conducted? This should be heavily considered when judging how thorough an investigation was conducted into this shooting. 

I received pictures of the Dodge Durango Amber was riding in. Based on showing the pictures to other investigators with experience in bullet trajectory, I formed the opinion that Trooper Parks was not standing in front of the vehicle and should not have feared for his life when he fired the shot that killed Amber Fagre. The State Police rejected this opinion and said that my trajectory analysis was faulty and that I was not a certified bullet trajectory expert. 

I did end up posting something on social media that was way off the mark. I assumed that Lt Ireland shot and killed Amber Fagre. I was wrong about this and corrected myself immediately after learning that it was Trooper Parks who fired the bullet that killed Amber. I posted a correction along with the Attorney General’s report into the shooting. The report stated that Lt Ireland fired the shot that killed Kadhar Bailey. This does not however release him from the mistakes he made that directly led to the unfortunate killing of Amber Fagre by Trooper Parks.

Lt Ireland has a long history of questionable behavior. I wrote an article about how he retaliated against me after I was charged with a crime and won in court. I was completely exonerated and Lt Ireland could not handle that, so he and others retaliated against me by denying a professional license and contacting my largest client. I lost the client after they told them that I was under an “Investigation that is ongoing”. This cost me a significant amount of revenue and ability to grow my business. Lt Ireland was also connected to a retaliation against Bobby Doyon and Katherine Biermann. Lt Ireland was caught on a recorded telephone call threatening a man who goes by the alias ‘Postol Front’. I have been contacted by many other people who have told me similar stories. However, when I mentioned this history on social media, the Maine State Police initially responded by telling me that Lt Ireland has “no sustained” internal affairs complaints against him. When I challenged that assertion, by telling them I myself made a complaint, they changed their answer to “he has only one (1) complaint against him”. How convenient!

In the months following the killing of Amber Fagre and Kadhar Bailey, there was a lot of public interest in the case. I received many messages, phone calls and social media comments from numerous people. I was inserting myself into the public conversation and asking people connected with the case to reach out to me. Most of my speculation and theories on the case were developed and tested on social media. I learned that Amber Fagre and Kadhar Bailey were most likely addicted to drugs and guessed that heavily influenced their actions. However, I could never understand how Amber Fagre died. I wrote on social media that I would eventually write an article about the shooting, but not until I had a better grasp on what actually happened that day. The Maine State Police accused me of being an incompetent, immoral liar for posting about this shooting on social media and said that my social media posts were equivalent to an investigative report that had the backing of the State of Massachusetts, because I hold a PI license there. I am sorry to inform them, but social media posts are simply free speech made in a digital public square. I’m sorry that my free speech offended them, but it was that very free speech that helped me research and form opinions about the shooting. I now feel that I can write an article about the shooting. But I want to stress, if anything in this article is wrong, please contact me so that I can correct it. 

I want to end this article by saying that I strongly believe that mistakes were made by Lt Ireland, Chief Brown, Sgt Estes and Trooper Parks that led to the death of Amber Fagre and Kadhar Bailey. These police professionals should have received sufficient training to avoid these glaring mistakes and they should be alive today. Amber should not have been in the Dodge Durango when Kadhar Bailey returned from his crime spree. Amber Fagres mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the State, however it was dismissed by the Judge. Sadly, justice for Ambrosia Fagre is unlikely unless things change when it comes to police accountability in Maine. 

I want to end this article by briefly discussing a curious consequence for my interest in this shooting. After I applied for a Professional License, the Maine State Police took an interest in my social media comments about this shooting. They ended up denying my application based on my social media posts. I appealed the denial and Judge Michaela Murphy of Kennebec County Superior Court reversed their decision by saying they could only deny me if I made the comments on social media with ‘malicious intent’. So the Maine State Police yet again denied me stating that I made my social media comments with ‘malicious intent’. I have begun a new appeal and will post updates on social media. I would confidently say that I am being retaliated against by the Maine State Police for questioning a police involved shooting. Rather than follow their oath to the constitution and allow someone to critically question a controversial shooting on social media, the Maine State Police used their power to retaliate against me for daring to challenge them. This is exactly why our founders gave us the first amendment. I will close this discussion with one question that needs to be answered; why do you think the Maine State Police retaliated against me for looking into a controversial police involved shooting? 

If anything in this article is wrong, please contact me at joshgray@nationalsi.com and I will do further research and make appropriate corrections. 

Update: In May 2020 Maine State Trooper George Loder filed a whistleblower complaint claiming that Lt Scott Ireland and Lt Micheal Johnston retaliated against him for exposing illegal activity within the State Police. 

Related Articles:

• Maine State Police Violate Civil and Human Rights of Massachusetts PI - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/maine-state-police-violate-civil-human-rights-pi-joshua-gray
• 2nd PI Claim Same Maine State Police Violated His Rights - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/second-pi-claim-maine-state-police-violate-his-rights-joshua-gray
• Corruption Exposed at Maine State Police - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/corruption-exposed-maine-state-police-joshua-gray
• She Said, She Said Reveals Corruption at Maine State Police - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/she-said-reveals-corruption-maine-state-police-joshua-gray
• Maine State Police Denied PI License Because of Social Media Posts About State Police Lieutenant - https://reason.com/2019/10/08/maine-state-police-denied-p-i-license-because-of-his-social-media-posts-about-state-police-lieutenant/
• Maine State Police Illegally Collecting Data on Mainers. Whistleblower is Retaliated Against. https://bangordailynews.com/2020/05/14/news/state/state-agency-illegally-collecting-data-on-mainers-claims-trooper-in-whistleblower-suit/

State Trooper who Killed man is Quietly Transferred

State Trooper who Killed man is Quietly Transferred.

By Joshua Gray

Augusta, Maine - State Trooper Lt. Scott W. Ireland was quietly transferred back to the executive protection unit, after his troubled tenure as the commander of the weapons and licensing unit. Newly promoted Lt. Michael Johnston is now in command of the unit. This happened more than a year after Lt. Ireland shot and killed a man in Vassalboro and amidst an onslaught of accusations that he is an unethical cop. A private investigator, from Boston has repeatedly claimed that Lt. Ireland is a dishonest police officer and even predicted that he would kill someone. The investigator’s warnings were answered with a false criminal charge and denial of his application for licensure to work in Maine. Lt. Ireland's transfer happened at the same time Superior Court Judge M. Michaela Murphy was deciding the private investigator’s appeal of his license denial.

It seems very plausible that Ireland’s transfer back to the unit he was promoted from, is a result of his involvement in the killing of two people, as well as information revealed during the appeal of the private investigator’s license. While the state did not take away Trooper Ireland’s lieutenant stripes, they did move him to the executive protection unit where he will have minimal contact with the general public, and is now part of a State Police unit that protects the Governor and other executive’s. This can clearly be viewed as a demotion for a series of poor decisions that led to the death of a man, violations in constitutional rights and exposure to lawsuits.

Private Investigator, Joshua Gray, from Boston, has long stated his opinion that Mr. Ireland is a dirty cop who is a danger to the public. PI Gray’s warnings were echoed by others in the private investigation industry. PI Gray predicted that Lt. Ireland would kill someone nearly a year before he was involved in the killing of a man and woman in Vassalboro, Maine. Lt. Ireland fired the shot that killed Kadhar Bailey, while trooper Jeff Parks fired the shot that killed Amber Fagre. PI Gray had applied for a private investigator license in Maine in 2003 and was denied based on parking tickets. After that denial, PI Gray learned the Maine State Police have a reputation for not allowing non-law enforcement to become licensed private investigators in Maine. PI Gray was told, by many other private investigators, the State of Maine was corrupt when it came to who they give private investigator licenses too.

In 2011 when PI Gray applied for a PI License a second time, it was no surprise when the State Police filed a false criminal charge against him for working in Maine without a license. This was completely untrue and then Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Hjelm, who is now a Maine Supreme Court justice, dismissed the case before trial. Lt. Scott W. Ireland then retaliated against PI Gray when he allowed Detective David Pelletier to contact Mr. Gray’s largest client and inform them he was under an ‘investigation that is ongoing’. The client immediately stopped using PI Gray, but the retaliation did not stop there. PI Gray’s license application was denied citing the very false criminal charge that had just been dismissed. During the appeal process, PI Gray reached an agreement to withdraw the application, wait for twelve months and then reapply. This compromise was made in an effort to stop endless appeals by both sides.

When PI Gray applied for a Maine PI License for the third time, he fully anticipated the application would be denied. PI Gray retained attorney Roger Hurley early in the process to be prepared. It was expected when the application was denied after a nine month background investigation. What was unexpected was the reason they gave. The State Police cited social media posts that were critical of Lt. Ireland’s handling of the killing in Vassalboro as their reason for denying the private investigator license application. The denial was immediately appealed and exposed just how far the State Police would go to violate Mr. Gray’s constitutional rights.

During the appeal process the State of Maine argued that PI Gray was an incompetent, immoral liar because he wrote false information on social media. However, they failed to mention that whenever something he wrote turned out to be wrong, he corrected himself. They even went so far as to not include the corrected social media posts in their discovery materials. The state’s attorney made the argument that Lt. Ireland had no history of internal affairs complaints, when PI Gray himself had made an internal affairs complaint a few years prior. They said that Mr. Gray’s claim of Lt. Ireland killing the man outside his house was a lie, but then told the court that it actually happened one half mile down the street. In rural Maine, that is outside a house! The State made the claim that PI Gray accused Lt. Ireland of possibly being drunk, but then told us the only drug or alcohol test was another officer smelling the breath of Lt. Ireland. No blood, breathalyzer or scientific tests were conducted to confirm that. While someone involved in the case was clearly incompetent, immoral and a liar, it was not PI Gray.

Lt Ireland was found to be justified in the shooting of the man in Vassalboro and has no sustained internal affairs complaints on his record. However, while the state of Maine will not find him at fault publicly, they appear to be quietly taking steps to limit his ability to keep making poor decisions that could expose them to more lawsuits. The mother of Amber Fagre filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the State Police and both Lt. Ireland and Trooper Parks were named in the suit. While U.S. District Judge Lance Walker recently ruled that Lt. Ireland was to be removed from the lawsuit, Lt. Ireland’s actions helped expose the state to the legal liability in the first place. Mr. Gray continues to maintain his opinion that Lt. Scott Ireland is an unethical cop, who is a danger to the citizens of Maine, but there is some limited justice in seeing that he has been transferred to a unit where he will have less contact with the general public.

This article was written by Joshua Gray, PI from Boston, MA

Shame on Maine State Police

UPDATE: Maine State Police only give Private Investigator licenses to retired State Troopers and Law Enforcement. They don’t respect someone who became a PI after college, has 17 years experience as a PI and has been licensed in numerous other States including MA, NH, VT, NY, NJ & TN. Something needs to be done about this clear corruption!

Patty Mayo's admits he's not a real bounty hunter.

Patrick Thomas Tarmey AKA Patty Mayo is not a real bounty hunter. This video proves it 100% He even admits it on camera (included at end of video)



Heres his channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEYLdM2bdhmw-TS3c0TjFNw



Heres the California license search engine: https://search.dca.ca.gov/



Heres his production company website: http://tarmeycorp.com/meet-the-team/



Heres a link to a casting call advertisement: https://archive.is/K2jclhttps://youtu.be/KD0fyDB007A

She Said, She Said. Corruption Exposed.

She Said - She Said

Reveals Corruption at Maine State Police

By Joshua Gray, PI from Boston, Mass

On a mid-June afternoon in Portland Maine, Katherine Biermann was returning home with her son to continue celebrating his birthday. She suggested to her friend Nancy Barone they play a board game and even offered her a beverage of Orange Juice. Nancy, who was staying with Biermann as a guest, was not in a very good mood and threw the beverage to the floor. A conflict then ensued. According to Biermann’s statement to the Portland Police, Barone attacked her, pinned her to the ground and started yelling for people to call the police. Barone’s statement claimed the exact opposite. This was a case of she said, she said. When the Portland police arrived Barone refused to answer the door and insisted that Biermann do it. After a short investigation the Portland police decided to arrest Biermann and charge her with Domestic Assault.

After the humiliating experience of being arrested and spending a night is lockup, Katherine Biermann pulled herself together and began the process of proving her innocence. To complicate matter’s Biermann was a Licensed Private Investigator who knew that a conviction of assault would most likely result in the suspension or revocation of her PI license. Nancy Barone knew this as well and decided to pour salt on her “friend’s” wounds and reported the arrest to Elizabeth Pepper of the Maine State Police special licensing division. Biermann remained optimistic, believing that she did nothing wrong and trusting in the justice system. It was only a matter of weeks before Nancy Barone changed her story and the charges were finally dropped in late October of 2012. There was some indication that Barone may be mentally unstable. Katherine Biermann’s summer nightmare had come to an end and she was vindicated of all wrongdoing. Little did she know that her nightmare was only beginning and a real life horror was about to unfold.

The Maine State Police did not accept the decision of the system and decided that Katherine Biermann was guilty of assault. They ignored the rule of law and became Judge, Jury and Executioner.  Maine State Police Sgt. Michael Zabarsky, during a phone conversation with Nancy Barone, stated very clearly they were not going to renew Biermann’s Private Investigator License. Barone then boasted repeatedly to Biermann what Sgt. Zabarsky had told her. Biermann retreated into depression and embarrassment and felt the pressure of the world weighing down on her. She had done nothing wrong and could not understand why her license would not be renewed.

Katherine Biermann’s Private Investigation career began in the late 1980’s. She slowly built up a private investigation practice working with lawyers, insurance companies and anyone who would give her work. Her story is similar to many Americans who get up every morning and work hard to achieve the American Dream. By 2012 she had been in the industry for over twenty years and had a loyal client base and a steady income of more than $50,000 a year. Biermann loved what she did and worked hard for her clients. She was a good investigator that planned to remain in business for many years to come. But all that changed when several corrupt Maine State Police troopers decided to violate her Constitutional, Civil and Human rights.

These corrupt troopers are Sgt. Michael Zabarsky, Det. David Pelletier and Lt. Scott Ireland. They did not care that charges were dismissed, they did not care about due process or constitutional rights. It would have been so easy for them to just follow the law, however they intentionally and knowingly decided to put her out of business. They prepared the case to deny her renewal application and wrote in their report “If Biermann renewed her Professional Investigators License, the alleged conduct may provide grounds to deny her application for a Professional Investigator License and /or initiate a complaint to deny/suspend/revoke…” This quote was taken from a report written in February of 2013. This was after the charges were dropped and she was vindicated of all wrongdoing. So you have to ask, how could an innocent person be in jeopardy of having their professional license taken away from them?

Sgt. Zabarsky, Det. Pelletier and Lt. Ireland do not believe in the Constitution. They do not believe that you are innocent until proven guilty, they do not believe in the Justice system. They believe themselves to be Judge, Jury and Executioner and they readied a case to deny Katherine Biermann of her rights. Rather than subject herself to further embarrassment and possibly cause her story to end up in the news, Biermann felt pressured to not even submit a renewal application for her Private Investigator License. She was aware they had decided to not renew and did not want to have a denial on her record. These corrupt and lawless troopers had intimidated a successful female Private Investigator out of business and over $50,000 in annual income. Why did they do it?

The career of Lt. Scott Ireland, Det. David Pelletier and Sgt. Michael Zabarsky shows a history of corruption. There were internal affairs investigations, disciplinary actions, and a history of intimidating other citizens. These three troopers should have been fired from the Maine State Police a long time ago. However, laws designed to shield public officials from prosecution, and the lack of a citizen oversight committee for Maine Police corruption allegations. Have protected them and they have managed to keep their jobs and even been promoted. But the corruption may go even further. There is a possible illegal and unethical connection between Lt. Scott Ireland and Michael Harrington who owns one of the largest PI companies in Maine. Recently, Lt. Ireland nominated Mr. Harrington, a private citizen, to be the chairman of an oversight committee that regulates the PI industry in Maine. This basically means that Michael Harrington now regulates himself in a blatant display of political corruption facilitated by Lt Ireland. 

I had a conversation with Katherine Biermann in August of 2016 and discussed all that happened to her. She was still very emotional and upset and confirmed the reason for not renewing her license was pressure from the “Sargent at the State Police”. I asked her specifically if she did work for Mr. Harrington and she replied that she did not remember, however did not believe she ever did. This was consistent with my theory that Mr. Harrington may be using his connection with Lt Scott Ireland to put competition out of business. I also learned that Biermann was not former law enforcement. It is well known that the majority of PI’s are former law enforcement and the Maine State Police will find any reason to deny a PI license to non-law enforcement. It seems obvious that Biermann was competition to the man who Lt Ireland appointment to the oversight committee, and she did not meet “good ole boy’ standards to even be a PI in the first place.

I learned about Biermann’s story through a freedom of information request that I submitted to the Maine State Police. Her story sent chills down my spine as I researched it and later spoke with her on the phone. I went through something similar and had my rights violated by the exact same troopers. Our stories consisted of the same ingredients; false charge, cased dismissed and these dirty cops ignoring the law. I posted my story on Facebook, YouTube and twitter and it was picked up by online blogs and shared around social media. Based on the posts, multiple other victims of the Maine State Police and these exact same troopers came forward. Private Investigator Bob Doyon of Maine was one of the people who reached out to me and his story was the same. He told me how these same troopers violated his rights. His story consisted of false allegations and these same dirty cops not following the law. In total 16 people have contacted me or I have learned about, three are now known to the public. Sixteen victims of corrupt and dirty cops. Sixteen people who had their lives interrupted for no reason. When I wrote the first article about my case, I asked the question ‘I wonder how many other victims there are?’ I never expected it would be so many. 

Katherine Biermann still lives in Portland and is now a grandmother. She manages to survive on the small checks from social security and has remained unemployed for over two years. Due to the poor job market she has found it difficult to start over. She was a Private Investigator for most of her adult life and the thought of doing anything else is depressing. Biermann is the victim of dirty cops who decided to not follow the law. They decided to pick the winners and losers. The Maine State Police, by intimidating her to not renew her license and making it clear that even if she did, they would deny it, ruined Katherine Biermann’s professional career. Biermann did not want her story to go public and I debated for a long time whether to write this article. However, since I learned her story through a freedom of information request of publicly available records, I felt her story needed to be told. This corruption must end.

Corruption Exposed at Maine State Police

By Joshua Gray, PI from Boston, MA

In 2011 a Massachusetts Private Investigator came to Maine to do training with a licensed Maine Private Investigator. The Massachusetts PI arrived at the case early and spent 40 minutes on the assignment by himself. The video footage that was obtained led to an Insurance fraud case against a Maine resident who was committing fraud. The investigator then applied for a Maine PI License.

In 2013 and then again in 2014 another Massachusetts PI company sent two unlicensed investigators to illegally work assignments. They spent four days and 33.5 hours conducting surveillance and obtaining video footage. They made no effort to obtain a valid Maine PI License.

One of these PI’s was charged with a crime and went through a three year legal process, the others were not charged. They all cooperated fully with the Maine State Police Investigation. Can you guess who was charged with a crime and who was not?

Most likely you guessed wrong! The first investigator was charged with working in Maine without a valid PI licensed, went through a three year court process, was vindicated when the case against him was dismissed and then had his Maine PI license application denied in retaliation for winning in court. The other PI’s were not charged. The first investigator was making every effort to follow all Maine State Laws. The other PI’s were blatantly ignoring Maine PI Laws. The Maine State Police troopers who investigated each case were the exact same people. Their names are Lt. Scott Ireland, Det. David Pelletier and Sgt. Michael Johnston. These men elevated themselves to Judge, Jury and Executioner in both cases and ignored the constitutional judicial process. The worst part about it, these troopers have a history of misapplying the law, frivolous investigations and Internal Affairs trouble.

The Private Investigator in the first case was me. My name in Joshua Gray and I have been a private investigator for over a decade. I have held PI licenses in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and New Jersey. I am known to have a high level of success with surveillance assignments and have earned awards and compliments from many in the industry. I have thousands of followers on social media and often contacted by other PI’s for advice. I’ve built up a successful practice and worked hard to be placed on the ‘approved vendors list’ of some large Insurance companies. When I started receiving more assignments than I could handle myself, I would sub-contract them to local investigators. If the PI did not work the assignments according to my high standards, I would offer to go on a case with them and give them pointers. That is what I was doing in 2011 when I came to Maine. The licensed Maine PI that I was meeting was late and I ended up spending 40 minutes on the case by myself.

The Massachusetts PI who worked one of the other cases was Dylan McLoud who came to Maine on June 23 through June 24, 2014 specifically to illegally work a case without a valid PI License. Mr. McLoud worked the case for a total of nineteen and a half (19.5) hours, obtained some video footage of a Maine resident and produced a surveillance report with his findings. His direct supervisor, James (Jim) Collins, of East Coast Investigative Services, Inc. has been in the industry for over 30 years and is a former Federal Drug Enforcement Administration officer. Mr. Collins is well connected in the Massachusetts political scene and is an executive board member of the Massachusetts Private Detectives Association and Legislative committee. Mr. Collins claims to have been involved in political lobbying efforts that have “raised the standards in the Private Investigation profession.” Both Dylan McLoud and Jim Collins knew that it was illegal to work in Maine without a valid PI license and yet they did it anyway. A second investigator from East Coast Investigative Services came to Maine in October of 2013 and conducted 14 hours of surveillance over a two day period. He is also not licensed in Maine.

Licensed Maine Investigator Bob Doyon became aware of this illegal activity in September of 2015 and performed his civic duty by making the Maine State Police aware. He did this at significant risk to himself and his livelihood. Mr. Doyon’s employer (who I have chosen to not name) hired Jim Collins as a sub-contractor and was potentially also in trouble as its illegal to hire an unlicensed company to perform PI work in Maine. Reporting your own employer for possible wrongdoing takes a great deal of courage, but was the right thing to do. Mr. Doyon presented the State Police Investigators with evidence to support Mr. McLouds Surveillance on the aforementioned dates and other information that clearly showed wrongdoing. It was a cut and dry case of working in Maine without a PI License. 

On January 5, 2016, Mr Doyon learned Maine State Police had concluded the investigation and had decided to not charge either Mr. McLoud or Mr. Collins with a crime, however chose to issue them a warning. In a conversation with Mr. Doyon, Det. Pelletier stated “Does everyone who violates the law deserves to be charged”. Later when Mr. Doyon was on a conference call with Lt. Scott Ireland, Det. David Pelletier and Sgt. Michael Johnston, Sgt. Johnston told him they decided to not file criminal charges due to Mr. Collins and Mr. McLoud’s cooperation with the investigation.

This news was understandably confusing to Mr. Doyon as just a few years ago, he was under investigation by the same troopers for obtaining video footage from a camouflage position. Mr. Doyon was also aware of my (Joshua Gray) case where they filed charges against me for coming to Maine to do training with a PI. He also knew of other cases where criminal charges were filed that had less evidence. It made no sense that the State Police would not file charges against Mr. McLoud and Mr. Collins. In my experience when a government worker does something that does not make sense, there is a good chance of corruption. We may be able to dismiss this possibility if that was the only time they made a questionable decision. However in the case of Lt. Scott Ireland, Det. David Pelletier and Sgt. Michael Johnston, there is a history of questionable decisions.

Lt. Scott Ireland and Det. David Pelletier where recently under an Internal Affairs investigation where they were both caught lying to Lt. Anna Love of Maine State Police Internal Affairs. I have found unethical connections between Lt. Ireland and Michael Harrington, owner of Merrill’s Investigations & Security, one of the largest PI firms in Maine. In Fact Lt. Ireland nominated Mr. Harrington to be the chairman of the Private Investigator oversight board in Maine. Meaning that Mr. Harrington was on an oversight board that regulates himself, an example of blatant corruption they are not even trying to hide. Perhaps the reason they commit corruption so openly, is because Maine State Police do not have a citizen oversight committee to hold them accountable. The person in the Attorney General’s office who is responsible for State Police Oversight is Brian MacMaster, who is friends with Lt. Scott Ireland and has a lake house next to Mr. Michael Harrington. I could document even more corruption, however in the interest of time, I will simply say, there is no doubt in my mind that Lt. Ireland, Det. Pelletier, Sgt, Johnston and Mr. Harrington are corrupt and need to be exposed.

Lt. Scott Ireland and his gang of corrupt troopers have decided they are Judge, Jury and Executioner. In my case they decided I was guilty despite Judge Jeffery Hjelm dismissing the charges against me. In Mr. Bob Doyon’s case, they decided he was guilty despite no supporting evidence to prove their case. In Mr. Dylan McLoud’s case, they decided he was innocent despite having overwhelming evidence of his and Mr. Jim Collin’s guilt. The only way to explain this seemingly illogical pattern is when you accept they are corrupt. When you look at this case through the eyes of corrupt political connections, it makes perfect sense. Keep in mind that Mr. Jim Collins is very politically connected in Massachusetts. It only makes sense that some politician in Massachusetts pressured some politician in Maine who told Lt. Ireland to not prosecute. Good police look at the law as black and white, you’re either guilty or innocent, and apply that philosophy fairly and evenly. Corrupt police don’t care about the law, the constitution or the judicial process and apply the law based on political pressures and influence. It’s overwhelmingly obvious where Lt. Scott Ireland, Det. David Pelletier and Sgt. Michael Johnston fall.

When I was going through the Maine Justice system, it was often relayed to me that Maine State Police were trying to crack down on out of state companies coming to Maine to work cases. They were concerned that it would take work away from duly licensed Maine Investigators. However when they had the chance to prosecute a company that was clearly sending unlicensed Investigators to Maine, they decided to let them go. When I came to Maine to do training with a licensed Investigator who I was giving work to, they decided to come after me with everything they had. Does that sound fair to any rational person! However after Justice Jeffrey Hjelm dismissed the charges, they retaliated against me by contacting my largest client and telling them I was under an ‘ongoing investigation’. This caused me to lose that client. That was not enough damage to me, they also denied my PI application in Maine. They seemed to stop a nothing to make sure that I could not be licensed in Maine when I did nothing wrong, however would not even prosecute some investigators that were clearly breaking Maine PI Laws. It is infuriating and completely unfair. There is a special place in Hell for people like Lt. Scott W Ireland, Det. David Pelletier and Sgt. Michael Johnston.