Police officer on MDI charged with OUI, quits job

BAR HARBOR – Police arrested Southwest Harbor Patrolman Christopher Rivers early Monday morning on a charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants, Bar Harbor Police Chief Nate Young said Tuesday.

Rivers resigned from the Southwest Harbor Police Department later in the day, according to a dispatcher.

David Tims, Southwest Harbor police chief, could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. He left at about mid-afternoon and was not expected to return to the police station until next Monday, the dispatcher said.

Rivers, who lives in Hancock, was one of four members of the department.

According to the police report of Bar Harbor arresting Officer Shaun Farrar, Rivers was seen walking toward a bar on Cottage Street at about 11 p.m. with Troy Cleaves, a former Mount Desert patrolman.

Cleaves, of Mount Desert, was arrested by Bar Harbor police earlier this year on a charge of OUI. Convicted, he resigned his job at Mount Desert. It was his third OUI conviction.

At about 11:45 p.m., Rivers and Cleaves walked up to Bar Harbor Officer Nicholas Fletcher, who was patrolling Cottage Street on foot, and started a conversation. Fletcher thought the two men appeared intoxicated and asked whether either of them intended to drive, Young said.

Fletcher relayed his concerns to Farrar, who later spotted the two men getting into Rivers’ GMC pickup and driving off. At 1:23 a.m., Farrar stopped Rivers on the Eagle Lake Road, Young said.

Rivers, who was driving, was administered a Breathalyzer test, which registered 0.21, nearly three times the legal limit, Young said.

Rivers will answer the OUI charge in Bar Harbor District Court on Nov. 13.