Seven years after the arrest that became his lifes preoccupation, Scott Jordan Jr. is still in disbelief.I was blown away at how that all just unfolded and how I was treated, Jordan said in an interview following the recent jury verdict in a civil rights lawsuit he successfully brought against police in Waldoboro, Maine. Jordan, 43, a corrections officer for 23 years at the Cumberland County Jail, has been fighting his 2014 arrest for what police had portrayed as elder abuse.The case centered around Jordans ailing then-66-year-old, father, Scott Jordan Sr., who had once sold and delivered seafood and later co-owned an antique shop.He bounced around from job to job, Jordan said of his father, who he described as an alcoholic smoker with liver disease and diabetes. Jordan said he spent time and money fixing up his fathers house, in Waldoboro, so it could be sold to pay for medical treatment and that he planned to have his father move in with him.Jordan said, Whenever he needed me, I was always there for him. Jordan said, during a hospital stay, his father feared his assets could be seized and asked his son to assume power of attorney over his financial affairs. On May 15, 2014, Jordan Sr. signed the form.I wasnt even in the room when he signed it, Jordan said. At no point was he concerned with me pocketing cash and absconding to Switzerland or something.Jordan raised $3,000 in a yard sale of his fathers belongings, took possession of his 2003 Chevy Silverado pickup truck--and his guns, two shotguns and a revolver, he says, because his father was expressing suicidal and irrational thoughts.Jordan recounted telling his father: Dad, youre in and out of it. I dont want to see you have an episode and then think Im some burglar, and Im really your son, and you take a shot at me.On July 31, 2014, Jordan Sr. rescinded the power of attorney, and his lawyer subsequently asked Jordan Jr. for an accounting of the fathers belongings. Jordan Sr. also called Waldoboro Police.I received numerous complaints from his father, Senior, that he felt his son was exploiting him financially, Larry Hesseltine, then a Waldoboro detective who picked up the investigation, said in an interview.Hesseltine is now police chief in Wiscasset, capping a 30-year career in law enforcement.He said, I take pride in being that police officer that is out there to help people.He said he had no prior experience dealing with a power of attorney agreement.His son had obtained some property that wanted back, and his son was refusing to return it for whatever reason, Hesseltine said. My time talking with Senior, from August on, til November, the time of arrest, I never once felt Senior was suicidal.In November 2014, Jordan Jr. posted an ad on Craigs List selling the truck for $7,900. After learning that, Hasseltine filled out a search warrant for Juniors home approved by a judge.The crime is theft, Hesseltine said. The fact that he was in law enforcement, in my mind back then, didnt put him above the law. However, as court proceedings would later decide, the warrant neglected to mention the original power of attorney or that Jordan Jr. had offered to give his fathers guns to police for safe keeping. On November 21, 2014, without ever interviewing Jordan Jr., Hesseltine arrested him at his Standish home in front of his 10-year-old daughter.Jordan said, I was in full uniform, armed myself, getting her ready for school, and he took me down like a Colombian drug lord, with my house surrounded.Bail conditions required Jordan Jr. to stay away from his father, who died 10 months later, in September 2015, at 67. The son never saw the father again. Without the key prosecution witness, the Knox County District Attorney dropped all criminal charges. In 2016, Jordan Jr, sued Hesseltine, the police department, and the town for wrongful arrest stemming from what the plaintiff depicted as a faulty search warrant resulting in a wrongful arrest.Jordan said, It was done illegally. He didnt present the facts the way he was supposed to. He didnt fact check anything.The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects Americans from unreasonable searches and seizures by their government.For the year his criminal investigation was active, Jordan was suspended from his corrections officer job, six months without pay. Unpaid, on MaineCare, getting Food Stamps, Jordan said.After an eight-day trial in Portland federal court last month, with Hesseltine the only remaining defendant, a jury sided with Jordan and awarded him $15,000 in damages, far less than the $175,000 the town of Waldoboro had offered him to settle the case and keep quiet.Jordan said, Im getting satisfaction. Im getting my name back.Hesseltine was never disciplined and says he acted with guidance from the DA and state attorney general, and until the jury verdict, says no one told hed done anything wrong.I dont agree with the jurys decision, but I have to respect the jurys decision, and going forward, I can only take steps to make sure Im never is this situation again. Hesseltine said. My only regret is I wish I had taken better notes back then. ###
Seven years after the arrest that became his lifes preoccupation, Scott Jordan Jr. is still in disbelief.
I was blown away at how that all just unfolded and how I was treated, Jordan said in an interview following the recent jury verdict in a civil rights lawsuit he successfully brought against police in Waldoboro, Maine.
Jordan, 43, a corrections officer for 23 years at the Cumberland County Jail, has been fighting his 2014 arrest for what police had portrayed as elder abuse.
The case centered around Jordans ailing then-66-year-old, father, Scott Jordan Sr., who had once sold and delivered seafood and later co-owned an antique shop.
He bounced around from job to job, Jordan said of his father, who he described as an alcoholic smoker with liver disease and diabetes.
Jordan said he spent time and money fixing up his fathers house, in Waldoboro, so it could be sold to pay for medical treatment and that he planned to have his father move in with him.
Jordan said, Whenever he needed me, I was always there for him.
Jordan said, during a hospital stay, his father feared his assets could be seized and asked his son to assume power of attorney over his financial affairs.
On May 15, 2014, Jordan Sr. signed the form.
I wasnt even in the room when he signed it, Jordan said. At no point was he concerned with me pocketing cash and absconding to Switzerland or something.
Jordan raised $3,000 in a yard sale of his fathers belongings, took possession of his 2003 Chevy Silverado pickup truck--and his guns, two shotguns and a revolver, he says, because his father was expressing suicidal and irrational thoughts.
Jordan recounted telling his father: Dad, youre in and out of it. I dont want to see you have an episode and then think Im some burglar, and Im really your son, and you take a shot at me.
On July 31, 2014, Jordan Sr. rescinded the power of attorney, and his lawyer subsequently asked Jordan Jr. for an accounting of the fathers belongings. Jordan Sr. also called Waldoboro Police.
I received numerous complaints from his father, Senior, that he felt his son was exploiting him financially, Larry Hesseltine, then a Waldoboro detective who picked up the investigation, said in an interview.
Hesseltine is now police chief in Wiscasset, capping a 30-year career in law enforcement.
He said, I take pride in being that police officer that is out there to help people.
He said he had no prior experience dealing with a power of attorney agreement.
His son had obtained some property that wanted back, and his son was refusing to return it for whatever reason, Hesseltine said. My time talking with Senior, from August on, til November, the time of arrest, I never once felt Senior was suicidal.
In November 2014, Jordan Jr. posted an ad on Craigs List selling the truck for $7,900.
After learning that, Hasseltine filled out a search warrant for Juniors home approved by a judge.
The crime is theft, Hesseltine said. The fact that he was in law enforcement, in my mind back then, didnt put him above the law.
However, as court proceedings would later decide, the warrant neglected to mention the original power of attorney or that Jordan Jr. had offered to give his fathers guns to police for safe keeping.
On November 21, 2014, without ever interviewing Jordan Jr., Hesseltine arrested him at his Standish home in front of his 10-year-old daughter.
Jordan said, I was in full uniform, armed myself, getting her ready for school, and he took me down like a Colombian drug lord, with my house surrounded.
Bail conditions required Jordan Jr. to stay away from his father, who died 10 months later, in September 2015, at 67. The son never saw the father again.
Without the key prosecution witness, the Knox County District Attorney dropped all criminal charges.
In 2016, Jordan Jr, sued Hesseltine, the police department, and the town for wrongful arrest stemming from what the plaintiff depicted as a faulty search warrant resulting in a wrongful arrest.
Jordan said, It was done illegally. He didnt present the facts the way he was supposed to. He didnt fact check anything.
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects Americans from unreasonable searches and seizures by their government.
For the year his criminal investigation was active, Jordan was suspended from his corrections officer job, six months without pay.
Unpaid, on MaineCare, getting Food Stamps, Jordan said.
After an eight-day trial in Portland federal court last month, with Hesseltine the only remaining defendant, a jury sided with Jordan and awarded him $15,000 in damages, far less than the $175,000 the town of Waldoboro had offered him to settle the case and keep quiet.
Jordan said, Im getting satisfaction. Im getting my name back.
Hesseltine was never disciplined and says he acted with guidance from the DA and state attorney general, and until the jury verdict, says no one told hed done anything wrong.
I dont agree with the jurys decision, but I have to respect the jurys decision, and going forward, I can only take steps to make sure Im never is this situation again. Hesseltine said. My only regret is I wish I had taken better notes back then.
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Cumberland County corrections officer sees vindication in jury verdict for wrongful arrest - WMTW Portland