Selectman says he stopped video to 'calm down situation, not to hide anything'

As the confrontation moves out into the lobby, top left, Lebanon Selectman Paul Philbrick, far right, can be seen directing the selectmen's secretary to shut down the live youtube feed. (Youtube screenshot)

LEBANON, Maine - The selectman who ordered that the live youtube video feed be shut off during an alleged assault at a selectmen's meeting on Thursday said he did so with the intention of de-escalating the situation.

"My reaction for turning the camera off was to attempt to calm down the situation not to hide anything," he wrote in an email to The Rochester Voice on Friday afternoon.

State Troopers Ryan Dubois and Benjamin Handzel responded to Lebanon Town Hall around 6 p.m. on Thursday night after they were called to investigate a possible assault that occurred during a regularly scheduled selectmen's meeting.

The live-streamed youtube feed shows the incident unfolding as town resident Teri Poirier opens the closed door to the selectmen's chambers at the 16-minute mark. She is then told by Selectboard Chair Chuck Russell that there's no room due to the fire code capacity. Russell adds that she'll have to wait a few minutes for folks to leave and that another person on the agenda is ahead of her, too.

Poirier then withdraws but leaves the door to the room open, so she can listen. As Poirier stands outside the vestibule a few moments later, Russell asks appeals board chair Deborah Dorey Wilson to close the door.

"You can't close the door," Poirier loudly complains as she crosses the vestibule. "It's a public meeting."

Wilson than approaches the door to shut it, and fills the doorway so Poirier is out of picture frame as Wilson appears to square up in a confrontational stance as she says

"You wanna get in my face?" Wilson says as she fronts up to Poirier.

As the two appear to move closer the commotion in the selectmen's office continues and grows louder. A moment later Poirier yells, "Get off of me, get off of me."

A few seconds later as other people block out the view of both Wilson and Poirier, Poirier yells, "That's assault, that's assault."

Moments later Selectmen's Secretary Lynn Davis-Gilmore turns off the live feed at the direction of Philbrick, she told The Rochester Voice on Friday.

Philbrick said he made the decision to turn off the live feed on his own.

"I am not able to provide you with any written authority or state statute that permitted me to have the camera turned off," he wrote. "Right, wrong, or indifferent, I take the responsibility for having the camera turned off."

It should also be noted that while Philbrick claimed he made the move to "calm down the situation," his voice is not audible as he points to the video hardware and directs selectmen's Secretary Lynn Davis-Gilmore to shut it down.

Neither Troopers Dubois nor Handzel had returned a Friday call as of this story's posting. Neither had Poirier or Russell.

The video can be viewed here.