Gov. Janet Mills announced Thursday the membership of a new commission to study the events leading up to the Lewiston mass shootings and the police response that followed.
Working with Attorney General Aaron Frey, Mills named seven members, many of whom are familiar names in the criminal justice system.
In a letter, Mills and Frey urged them to “follow the facts, wherever they may lead.”
On Oct. 25, a gunman killed 18 people and injured 13 at a bowling alley and bar. In the days since, information has been released to indicate that Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, was known to the Army and the police as a person with mental illness and someone who had leveled threats of gun violence.
After initially saying she would wait for a Maine State Police investigation, Mills reversed course and announced that she would name an independent commission to examine what happened.
The Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston will be made up of:
– Former Maine Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Daniel Wathen, who will serve as chair;
– Debra Baeder, former chief forensic psychologist for the state;
– George Dilworth, former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Maine and current managing director of the law firm Drummond Woodsum;
– Former Maine Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Ellen Gorman;
– Former Maine District Court Judge and former District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau;
– Dr. Anthony Ng, board certified psychiatrist and medical director of community services for Northern Light Acadia Hospital;
– Former U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby.
The governor’s announcement does not give the commission a deadline to issue a final report but directs it to proceed with a “sense of urgency.”
The commission has also been directed to meet in public as much as possible.
“As we have said, the complete facts and circumstances — including any failures or omissions — must be brought to light and known by all,” Mills and Frey said in a statement. “The families of the victims, those who were injured, and the people of Maine and the nation deserve nothing less.”
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