Officers seen killing porcupines with batons in Snapchat video fired, Maine police say
Two Maine police officers allegedly beat porcupines to death with their batons while on duty, outlets report.
Addison Cox, 27, and Michael Rolerson, 30, who were fired in September, admitted to investigators that they attacked the animals on several occasions in June, estimating they killed 11 in total, The Courier Gazette reported. A third officer allegedly recorded one of the incidents and shared it on Snapchat groups within the Rockland Police Department.
Rolerson allegedly told colleagues that he sometimes used pepper spray on the porcupines, before or after he beat them, the Gazette reported.
A fellow officer reported the incidents in August, and Rolerson and Cox were fired Sept. 22, the outlet reported. The officer who shared video to Snapchat is on administrative leave.
Cox and Rolerson have been charged with aggravated animal cruelty and night hunting, Bangor Daily News reports, and will appear in court Nov. 9.
Rockland’s chief of police, Chris Young, has so far declined to share additional details or publicly explain why the officers were fired, citing policy restrictions.
“A tremendous amount of power is given to those who wear a badge and are tasked with protecting their communities; it’s a power that I do not take lightly,” Young wrote in a Facebook post. “I’m asking you to trust that, if there were an allegation of police misconduct, I would take it very seriously and any investigation would be conducted appropriately, always placing public safety and community trust at the forefront.”
Cox and Rolerson served in the Marine Corps, according to the Bangor Daily News.
Cox, who joined the department in 2016, received a medal for bravery in 2018 for actions taken while responding to an apartment fire. Rolerson was hired in 2017, and comes from a long line of police officers, including his father, the outlet reported.
Both men have appealed their firings, the Courier Gazette reported.
