THOMASTON, Maine — A town police officer has pleaded not guilty to charges that he falsified police records and failed to report a crash.
Not guilty pleas were entered Monday on behalf of veteran Thomaston police officer Michael Blais, 63, of Thomaston. The pleas were entered in Knox County Unified Court by his attorney Michael Cunniff of Portland.
Blais was charged May 16 with two counts of tampering with public records, which in this case were police reports. He also was charged with failure to report a crash and leaving the scene of a crash involving an unattended vehicle.
The Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office is handling the case to avoid a conflict, since he works with the local district attorney’s office.
Thomaston Police Chief Kevin Haj said last month that the officer was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal case.
The charges resulted from an incident Feb. 8, when Blais was plowing snow for the town in an area behind the business block. He struck a truck with the plow and caused damage to its doors, the chief had said.
The tampering with records charges are Class D offenses and carry a maximum penalty of up to 364 days in jail, but that would only be reserved for repeat offenders. The other two charges are Class E offenses, which carry up to six months in jail, but again the maximum is reserved for the most serious incidents and for someone with a lengthy record.
Blais has been with the Thomaston department since October 2003.