PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A man who was working on a friend’s car suddenly found himself surrounded by law enforcement Saturday in Presque Isle. The only problem was, he wasn’t breaking the law.
Presque Isle Police Department received a call from a resident on Beacon Road who said she thought her neighbor had a gun. Multiple agencies were notified including Maine State Police as well as the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office.
Kenneth Carmichael, who just turned 48 on Friday, was at the residence working on his friend’s car.
“I was working on my buddy’s car, because he got a new job,” Carmichael said.
Police set up a perimeter before they took Carmichael into temporary custody.
“I kept shouting ‘all I’m doing is working on the car,’” he said.
The Presque Isle Police Department said the call was a “complete false alarm,” and that no charges would be brought against the person.
“I get like 20 police officers at gunpoint because someone decided to make a false call,” Carmichael said. “I could have been killed today.”
Carmichael said the police apologized and he understood that they were doing exactly what they needed to do to protect the citizens of Presque Isle.
