Jail worker resigns after OUI charge

AFLRED – A York County corrections officer has resigned after being charged with drunken driving while attending the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro.

Michael Farrell, 49, caught the attention of Waterville police when he parked his county cruiser in front of Bootleggers Tavern early April 6.

Farrell’s blood alcohol level was 0.14 percent when he later was stopped while driving, police said. The legal blood alcohol limit is 0.08 percent in Maine.

Farrell’s resignation last week came hours before county commissioners were to discuss whether he should lose the job he had held for little more than a year at the York County Jail. He already had been placed on administrative leave without pay.

Had he not resigned, Farrell would have been prevented from working at the jail by a county policy that requires all corrections officers to complete a two-week course at the Criminal Justice Academy.