BY TREVOR MAXWELL

Portland Press Herald

The family of a Standish man believes negligence by Cumberland County sheriff's deputies might have played a role in a high-speed chase and fatal motorcycle crash last summer.

Patrick Smith, 47, died eight days after the accident in Buxton on July 12, 2008.

The lawyer for Smith's family has served the county with a notice of claim, which reserves the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit within the next six months. But the lawyer, Harry Center, says he can't decide whether any lawsuit is warranted, because the sheriff's office has refused to release some records relating to the incident. So Center has filed a separate lawsuit seeking police reports and other documents under the state's Freedom of Access law.

"The family has a right to that information," Center said Tuesday. "We want to know what they are hiding. Why won't they turn it over?"

An attorney for the county said officials have nothing to hide. Patricia Dunn said the sheriff's office has already provided some of the information requested by Center, including an accident report created by Buxton police.

Dun said other documents -- -- are confidential under state law.

"This falls under the records that have been designated confidential by statute," she said.

The next step is for the parties to submit legal briefs. It will then be up to a Cumberland County Superior Court judge to determine which side is correct.

"We just want to know the facts," Center said. "If the reports demonstrate there is not civil liability, then we will not pursue the claim."

Around 9:30 on the night of July 12, Smith was driving his Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Cape Road in Standish, according to Cumberland County Chief Deputy Kevin Joyce. Andrew Feeney, a deputy with the sheriff's office, saw the motorcycle on the wrong side of the road and began a pursuit.

Joyce said Feeney continued to chase Smith for about four miles. Smith slowed a few times for stop signs, but otherwise was traveling between 65 and 95 mph, often in the wrong lane, Joyce said. Feeney lost sight of Smith near the Buxton town line. Joyce said Feeney saw dust in the air at the entrance to Warren Road, so he continued in that direction. The deputy then saw Smith face down in the middle of Warren Road, and his motorcycle had crashed into a ditch.

"Once Feeney got there, he and another officer performed first aid," Joyce said.

Smith was taken by ambulance to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he remained in critical condition for eight days, until his death on July 20.

The incident prompted an internal review at the sheriff's office, which ultimately supported Feeney. The county discourages deputies from prolonged high-speed pursuits if the suspect is known and can be apprehended later, or if there is a single infraction such as speeding or failing to stop at a stop sign. However, deputies and their supervisors have discretion to continue with a chase if a person is suspected of drunken driving or driving to endanger. Officers must weigh the safety of the public, the suspect and themselves.

In this case, Feeney made the proper decisions and followed county protocol, Joyce said.

"The bottom line is there was no inappropriate action," he said.

The fight over the police records will test competing sections within Maine law. On one hand, the Freedom of Access statute provides broad public access to documents from government agencies, and the Legislature has expressed an intent to make available as much information as possible. Center argues that the records he seeks fall under that provision.

On the other hand, the state's Criminal History Record Information Act provides a legal argument for keeping certain records confidential. For example, government reports that contain information about ongoing criminal investigations or tactical strategies by police agencies are considered exempt from the Freedom of Access law.