VINALHAVEN – Many island residents believe they cannot rely on law enforcement agencies in the same way that their mainland counterparts do.

This is especially true on Vinalhaven, where a deputy from the Knox County Sheriff’s Department may or may not be on island on a given day – and most islanders know the deputy’s schedule as well as the sheriff does.

Phil Crosman, who with his wife owns the island’s only motel, believes this explains why so many residents have rallied behind Earl Hamilton, 39, a Vinalhaven native who faces a jury trial on a disorderly conduct charge after he allegedly took the law into his own hands.

The charge stems from a confrontation this winter with another man over a reckless driving incident that Hamilton felt threatened his daughter and another girl.

Crosman and about 50 others sent a petition to District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau asking that charges against Hamilton be dropped. Claiming that no response came from the prosecutor’s office, Crosman and 100 others signed a letter that they sent to the Bangor Daily News, again asking that charges against Hamilton be dismissed.

The letter describes Hamilton as an “honorable member of our island community, an example of the kind of citizen most communities would like to have more of.”

Hamilton said in an interview that the incident that led to his legal problems began on the afternoon of Feb. 18. His 10-year-old daughter and another girl were playing on the town’s ball field, which had been flooded and frozen over for skating. The field is across the road from the Hamiltons’ home.

As the children skated, a man drove his pickup truck onto the field and intentionally spun and skidded the vehicle around on the ice.

Hamilton said he saw the truck spinning while the girls tried to skate in a far corner of the ice. He dressed and ran out to talk to the driver, but by the time he reached the field, the driver had left the ice.

Hamilton said he got into his vehicle and drove around, eventually finding the truck parked at the Pizza Pit restaurant. Inside, Hamilton confronted the driver and his passenger, chastising them for their behavior.

The driver readily agreed that his actions were reckless and apologized, Hamilton said. But the passenger in the truck, Robert Jackomino, became involved in an argument with Hamilton, authorities said. The men took their dispute outside and a fight ensued.

Two deputies arrived and took both men into custody. They were taken by a Marine Patrol boat to the mainland and jailed in Rockland early on a Monday morning, Hamilton said, both charged with assault.

Jackomino, who was out on bail on another charge at the time of the fight, was denied bail and stayed in jail until the next morning. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, disorderly conduct, and was sentenced to the time he served in jail while awaiting bail.

Hamilton’s assault charge was reduced to disorderly conduct, which was scheduled to be heard in Rockland District Court last week. The hearing was canceled when Hamilton’s attorney, Rick Morse of Rockland, requested a jury trial on the charge. The trial is expected to be scheduled in the coming months.

When contacted Friday, Rushlau, the district attorney, acknowledged that the charge against Hamilton could be dropped, as is the case with any defendant. But he said his office remained unconvinced that Hamilton should be treated as someone who intervened on the part of law and order.

“The real concern, from my standpoint, was that when the deputy arrived and asked him to stop fighting, he did not,” Rushlau said. In fact, he said, the deputy had to use pepper spray on Hamilton to get him to submit.

“Whatever his original motivation was,” the prosecutor said, “he went well beyond that.”

Morse thinks the charges against his client should be dropped, arguing that Hamilton has been a law-abiding citizen.

“I don’t think it should’ve been prosecuted because of the extenuating circumstances,” Morse said. Hamilton was acting as a good Samaritan, he said. “He was injured quite badly by this,” he said.

Hamilton said he did not hear the deputies identify themselves, and did not see them, perhaps, he said, because he had blood in his eyes and was in the midst of the fight.

“It was a brutal fistfight,” he said. “All I know is people [were] trying to pull us apart. I didn’t know who it was.”

Hamilton said Jackomino has since apologized to him about the incident.

Contacted Tuesday, Jackomino agreed that the fight “was something that shouldn’t have happened,” though he said he understood why Hamilton was angry. “I could have handled the whole thing differently,” he said.

Jackomino also said he believes Hamilton should not have to face any greater sentence than his own.

For his part, Hamilton understands there are consequences for fighting, but doesn’t believe his punishment should be equal to or more severe than Jackomino’s.

“What’s my reward for being a good citizen?” he asked. “I’m not trying to duck out of whatever debt I owe society out of this whole situation.” But he doesn’t think he should have to pay a fine or serve jail time.

Crosman said there should be more people on Vinalhaven who draw the line on reckless behavior as Hamilton did. “I don’t think he should’ve been charged,” he said.

Bob Candage, owner of the Port O’ Call, the island hardware store, agrees with Crosman.

“I think [Hamilton] felt his daughter was being threatened,” he said, “and I don’t know what kind of father in his right mind wouldn’t go ahead and confront someone. It seems to me a reasonable act of protection.”

And like many people on the island, Candage believes residents at times must take matters into their own hands to ensure safety.

“You can’t depend on the response of the Sheriff’s Department out here,” he said.