The chief of the Maine Capitol Police, now on administrative leave while facing charges for an assault on a Hallowell police officer in August, has faced discipline before.
Matthew Clancy was suspended without pay for 40 hours for “conduct unbecoming of the Chief of the Capitol Police,” according to a November 2023 letter that the Maine Department of Public Safety released in response to a request under Maine’s Freedom of Access Act. The Capitol Police is a bureau of the department.
Michael Sauschuck, the state’s public safety commissioner, wrote in the letter that he found Clancy requested a subordinate state employee perform services of a personal nature for his benefit using a Capitol Police vehicle while on the clock, and that Clancy did not report an interaction he had with local law enforcement to his supervisor.
Clancy was also found, on at least one occasion, to have used his state-issued vehicle to drive to the Augusta Country Club in Manchester, where he consumed alcohol before driving the vehicle again, Sauschuck wrote. Clancy was authorized to use the vehicle only for commuting.
Sauschuck said he recommended the 40-hour suspension after reviewing an investigation report into the allegations.
Clancy’s conduct regarding the request of his subordinate employee closely matches a July 8, 2023, incident in Waterville detailed in a police report. That incident was reported first by The Maine Wire, an online news outlet.
Waterville police Officer Samuel Violette wrote in his report that he saw Clancy “unsteady on his feet” and get into his parked truck around 2:30 a.m. in The Concourse parking lot downtown. Clancy was also slurring his speech, the report states.
Clancy told Violette he worked for the Capitol Police, and called his dispatch center for someone to pick him up, according to the report. A Capitol Police officer arrived about 15 minutes later to drive Clancy away, and the Waterville officer cleared the scene.
Shannon Moss, spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, did not respond Friday morning when asked to confirm whether Clancy’s discipline stemmed from the incident in Waterville or something else.
Following his Aug. 2 arrest in Hallowell, however, it appears that Clancy did try to contact Sauschuck almost immediately, in the middle of the night.
According to text messages between Clancy and Sauschcuk, also obtained through a Freedom of Access Act request, Clancy wrote to Sauschuck at 2:08 a.m. on Aug. 2 to call him, and apologized for the early morning contact.
He sent that message about two hours after police responded to an altercation outside The Quarry Tap Room on Water Street, Hallowell police Officer Johnny Narvaez wrote in his report, which was also released this week.
Clancy was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta for treatment of a laceration, and a bail commissioner met him and Narvaez there. Clancy posted $500 cash bail at around 4 a.m., Hallowell police Chief Chris Giles said previously.
At 10:44 a.m., Clancy texted Sauschuck, saying he was making arrangements to go somewhere, but the rest of the message was redacted. He and Sauschuck then discussed emailing back and forth a rough draft of something, the details of which also appear to be redacted.
The next day, Sunday, Aug. 3, Clancy told Sauschuck he returned a car and gear, and set up his email to forward to Lt. Steve Trahan, who the department has said is the officer-in-charge of the Capitol Police while Clancy is on leave.
Sauschuck also appeared to be preparing Clancy for media coverage about his arrest.
Around 4:45 p.m., Sauschuck told Clancy that media outlets had reached out to the Hallowell Police Department, but no information had been released yet.
Clancy responded that he also heard a video of the incident was circulating.
“Got it. Thanks,” Sauschuck responded.
The next morning, Monday, Aug. 4, at 11:16 a.m., Sauschuck told Clancy the department had received more media inquiries, “so a story is imminent.”
Giles provided information to the Morning Sentinel earlier that morning. But the Department of Public Safety did not acknowledge it placed Clancy on paid administrative leave, until Wednesday, Aug. 6, despite several inquires.
The department says Clancy was placed on leave Saturday, Aug. 2. Moss, the department’s spokesperson, has not answered why there was a delay in confirming that he was on leave.
Clancy and Sauschuck remained in touch in the weeks following the incident, according to the messages, which go through the end of August, when the Morning Sentinel requested them.
In one message from Aug. 4, Clancy wrote: “Appreciate you sir and I apologize again, over and over.”
Clancy appeared to be traveling out of state at at least one point, and provided various “updates.”
It is unclear what Clancy was updating Sauschuck about, as the Department of Public Safety redacted most of the messages between the two, citing an exemption for access to certain records involving personnel matters. It also denied a request for emails between Clancy and Sauschuck for the same period, citing the same personnel records exemption.
Moss said via email earlier this week that an internal review regarding Clancy was ongoing, and there were no new updates to share. Clancy was still on paid administrative leave, Moss said.
Clancy, 62, of Sidney, is charged with one Class D count of assault, one Class D count of refusing to submit to arrest or detention with physical force and one Class E count of disorderly conduct, police records show. Narvaez, the Hallowell officer, issued him a summons to appear in court Sept. 29 in Augusta.
Security staff at The Quarry Tap Room were attempting to kick Clancy out after he got into a fight with other patrons over taking photographs without permission, Narvaez’s report says.
When Narvaez asked Clancy to leave, Clancy said he did not have to do so, before grabbing Narvaez’s shoulder and striking him on the forehead with an open palm, according to the report.
The report then details a physical struggle involving Clancy, Narvaez and a security staff member. While the two tried to bring Clancy to the ground, Clancy struck his head on the pavement and sustained a minor laceration with visible bleeding, the report says.
Narvaez was eventually able to put Clancy in handcuffs, he wrote. While on the ground, Clancy said to Narvaez, “You are f—d now, do you know who I am?” the report states.
Clancy was reportedly telling people in the bar he was both a police chief and a federal agent. Before Narvaez arrived, Clancy told security guard Robert Magee, “You don’t know who you’re messing with” and “also mentioned that he would have the state police rain down on all of them (security) and ruin their lives.”
Natasha Irving, district attorney for Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and Waldo counties, has not responded to emails this week asking whether her office will pursue the charges against Clancy.
Irving’s office is handling the case as Maeghan Maloney, district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties, said her office could not due to her professional working relationship with Clancy.
Clancy has been chief of the Capitol Police since 2021. In addition to the chief, the bureau, which is responsible for law enforcement at the State House and other state buildings in Augusta, lists 11 officers and support staff on its website.
Before coming to Maine, Clancy was a police officer for 39 years in Massachusetts, including 20 years as a chief in two municipalities, the agency’s website says.
Clancy holds a master’s degree in criminal justice from Boston University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
Clancy earned about $107,000 in regular wages in 2024, state payroll records available online show. He also earned just more than $3,000 in overtime pay and collected about $24,000 in insurance and retirement benefits.
In response to requests under the Massachusetts Public Records Law, officials in three of the Massachusetts towns that employed Clancy for most of his career — Plympton, Duxbury and Mashpee — said they had no records of any disciplinary actions or complaints regarding Clancy.
A personal phone number for Clancy listed in an online database has been disconnected.