Maine state troopers and senior law enforcement leadership have officially denied any wrongdoing in court filings submitted this week, formally responding to a high-profile federal civil lawsuit that accuses officers of deploying excessive and unlawful physical force during a violent 2024 arrest in York County.
The formal legal responses were filed on Tuesday on behalf of three state troopers as well as Maine State Police Col. William Ross, the agency's commanding head. The documents mark the first comprehensive, formal answer from the defendants since Justin Savage of Limerick initiated the civil action against them in federal court last September. In their replies, the defendants presented general rebuttals challenging Savage’s version of the altercation and denied the core allegations outlining police brutality.
The court filings also offer a preliminary look at the affirmative legal defenses that the troopers and state police leaders intend to present should the case advance to trial. Central among these strategies is the invocation of qualified immunity, a powerful legal doctrine that protects police officers and other government officials from individual civil liability unless a plaintiff can demonstrate that the conduct violated clearly established constitutional or statutory rights.
The federal lawsuit stems from an encounter that occurred on the evening of March 16, 2024, when troopers were dispatched to Savage’s residence in Limerick. Law enforcement had been directed to the property following an initial report regarding suspected domestic violence, an allegation that both Savage and his partner firmly refuted upon the officers' arrival at the home.
While the interaction between the homeowners and the responding troopers began in a relatively calm and routine manner, the situation deteriorated rapidly. Within moments, the dialogue devolved into a chaotic physical confrontation outside the home in Savage's private driveway.
During the rapid escalation of the struggle, Sgt. Adam Schmidt sustained a broken leg while tackling Savage to the ground. The physical encounter intensified further as troopers sought to overpower and physically restrain the York County resident on the pavement.
Critical elements of the violent arrest were captured by a police vehicle’s dashboard camera. The recorded video footage showed Cpl. Jamie Fenderson repeatedly punching Savage directly in the head and face while the plaintiff was already placed in handcuffs and lying prone on the driveway ground. The recorded actions depicted a level of physical force that policing experts emphasize is rarely, if ever, justifiable when applied against an individual who is already restrained.
The physical consequences of the encounter were heavily reflected in Savage's appearance following the arrest. In a post-arrest booking photograph taken while in custody, Savage was left almost unrecognizable due to the extensive facial injuries and swelling sustained from the repeated blows delivered during the confrontation.
In the immediate wake of the driveway altercation, Savage was initially charged with multiple criminal violations, including an allegation of assault on a police officer. However, prosecutors within the office of York County District Attorney Kathryn Slattery ultimately evaluated the case and dismissed all criminal charges against Savage stemming from that night's incident.
Despite the video evidence depicting the physical blows and the subsequent dismissal of all criminal counts by local prosecutors, the Maine State Police conducted an internal administrative investigation that ultimately cleared all involved troopers of professional misconduct. Throughout the review, state police officials declined to address specific inquiries about the arrest but stood firmly behind their conclusion that the troopers' physical force was fully justified under the circumstances.
The legal representation for Col. Ross and the three troopers involved in the incident—Cpl. Fenderson, Sgt. Schmidt, and Det. Anna Doughty—is being overseen by the office of Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, which is handling the defense for the state police agency and its personnel against the civil liability claims.
The troopers’ formal answers to the lawsuit follow a notable ruling delivered in August by U.S. District Court Judge Stacey Neumann. In that decision, the judge narrowed the scope of Savage’s legal complaint by dismissing several secondary claims, including accusations that the troopers intentionally destroyed evidence and defamed him by issuing a misleading public press release concerning his arrest, ruling that those particular allegations lacked legal standing.
Despite tossing those specific peripheral claims, Judge Neumann determined that the heart of Savage’s lawsuit—the allegations of unconstitutional excessive force—possessed sufficient grounds to proceed toward a civil trial. This decision cleared the way for the core issues surrounding the officers' use of force to be argued directly before the court.
The contentious arrest and its administrative aftermath were previously the focus of a detailed, multi-part investigative reporting project conducted collaboratively by The Maine Monitor and the Bangor Daily News' Maine Focus team. The journalistic investigation highlighted the deep contrast between the state police’s internal exoneration of the officers and the assessments of policing experts regarding the use of physical force on restrained individuals.
Savage’s civil action represented the first of two separate excessive force lawsuits brought against the Maine State Police in the fall of last year. The consecutive legal actions generated significant political fallout and scrutiny among state lawmakers, who subsequently pressed Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck with pointed questions regarding police oversight, internal accountability, and use-of-force standards across the state police agency.
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