Cumberland sergeant honored after license‑plate data helped identify suspects in multi‑town arson probe

Cumberland Town Council members on June 16 heard a presentation honoring Sergeant Scott Hendy of the Cumberland Police Department for using the department's automated license‑plate reader (ALPR) system to aid a multi‑town arson investigation.

Chief Ramsey presented Hendy with a commendable action award and read a letter describing how Hendy queried the department's Axon ALPR database after learning that Yarmouth Police and the State Fire Marshal were investigating multiple arson fires. "The intelligence you provided led to the identification of a suspect," Ramsey read from information he said he received from Chief Gallant of the Yarmouth Police Department, and the work "ultimately led to the arrest of 2 individuals in connection with the arson fires and the identification of 2 additional suspects." The chief also told the council that the investigation remains ongoing and that additional criminal charges are anticipated.

Ramsey explained how the technology operates and how Hendy used it. He told the council the system compares plates it sees to an agency 'hot list' and that officers receive alerts when a plate matches. He added that the system also stores other searchable data and that "in this case, he was able to go back and ask it on a particular date for a particular period of time. Did it see something that roughly matched the description of the suspect vehicle? And the system said, yes." Ramsey also noted retention limits: "That data is collected and stored for a very short period of time based on Maine State statute. So it sits on our system for no more than 21 days, and then it gets purged."

The letter read by Ramsey summarized investigatory facts: investigators had identified a suspect vehicle described as an older Lexus SUV; on March 18 the suspect vehicle had returned to the scene of one of the Yarmouth arsons; Hendy located images of a matching vehicle and matching license‑plate reads on Blanchard Road and Tuttle Road in Cumberland, and forwarded the data to Yarmouth investigators. According to Ramsey's reading of Yarmouth's report, that information accelerated the investigation and led to arrests.

The council offered brief thanks and congratulations. The award presentation was ceremonial; no formal council motion or vote was required. Council discussion focused on the interagency assistance and on the capabilities and limits of the ALPR system.