Police chief allegedly used ruse to enter private dwelling

Former Blaine police chief Allen Schubert may have entered a private residence unlawfully and scuffled with a 77-year-old man, in the course of helping the man’s wife gather her belongings following a domestic dispute.

The incident, which allegedly occurred on January 8, led to an investigation by the city of Blaine which resulted in no disciplinary action being taken against Schubert.

Schubert abruptly resigned as police chief less than a month later, on February 4, with just over 160 days of service under his belt.

The incident is detailed in a police report obtained by The Northern Light, which contains the narratives of four officers with direct knowledge of the events that transpired on January 8.

According to the police report, Schubert, wearing plain clothes and armed with a pistol, pretended he was from UPS to gain entry into a private residence on Peace Portal Drive, and then became involved in a physical altercation inside with the home’s occupant.

The events took place after a woman sought the assistance of the Blaine police in collecting her belongings. The woman was concerned that her husband, Emil Clermont, 77, was not taking his prescribed medication for some time and was becoming increasingly agitated. She was concerned about potential harm towards her, although she advised police that she had not been assaulted by Clermont.

Clermont had apparently locked her out of their apartment earlier in the day, and her keys, passport, purse and other personal effects were locked inside the home. She told police she wanted to retrieve them before crossing the border into Canada, where she planned to stay with relatives temporarily.

When officers, including Schubert, gathered in their briefing room on January 8 to discuss how to proceed, they discussed how they could help her gain access to the apartment to retrieve her belongings. The question then arose as to whether officers themselves could enter the residence, and what would happen if Clermont refused to open the door to police.

According to the police report, one officer advised chief Schubert that “the police just couldn’t go into the residence if Mr. Clermont objected.” Another officer agreed with this assessment, offering that “if Mr. Clermont had committed a crime or met the requirements for an involuntary commitment due to his mental health status, we would need to seek an arrest warrant or court order.”

Subsequently, chief Schubert and other officers accompanied the woman to her apartment complex. An attempt to obtain a house key for her from the apartment manager was unsuccessful, as the manager was not home. Other officers suggested that she could just go ahead and proceed directly to Canada, as she was a dual citizen and could not be refused entry, even without a passport.

However, according to the police report, chief Schubert then decided to use a ruse to see if Clermont would open the front door of the residence.

One of the officers’ narratives described what allegedly happened: “I observed chief Schubert cover the … door’s peephole. He knocked on the door several times and yelled out “UPS.” A few seconds had passed when the door opened. [Clermont] said, “You tricked me. I was waiting for UPS.” Almost instantaneously, chief Schubert walked into the home with the man (Clermont) quickly retreating backwards out of my sight.”

Another officer’s narrative describes a similar course of events: “Chief Schubert walked up to the door of the apartment and covered the peep hole with his fingers. He knocked on the door and said “UPS!” … I watched the door to the apartment open and chief Schubert immediately enter. Due to my distance, I was unable to hear anything said by Clermont as the door opened, inviting or otherwise.”

Chief Schubert and Clermont then became involved in a physical altercation, according to the police report. One of the officers’ narratives describes how “Chief Schubert had a hold of Mr. Clermont’s right arm and he appeared to be tugging on it while telling Mr. Clermont to go outside. Mr. Clermont resisted by trying to pull away and saying no.”

Another officer’s narrative also describes how “Chief Schubert was holding onto Clermont’s right arm near the elbow. Clermont was obviously upset and yelling at everyone.”

Clermont eventually calmed down after being told that he was not going to jail and the officers assisted Clermont’s wife with retrieving her personal belongings. While his wife collected her things, one of the officers engaged in conversation with Clermont who “would have mood swings ranging from calm and lucid to bouts of anger,” according to the officer’s narrative. “At times he rambled incoherently and he had stated twice that he was going to kill Blaine police.”

The police report mentions how officers were uncomfortable with what transpired that day. One officer said that he was “shocked” to see Schubert “barge into the apartment,” and that he “felt it was my necessary duty to inform a supervisor.” Other officers were described as being “dumbfounded to hear this information,” with one officer saying “he would report this incident through the proper channels and city management.”

Another officer contacted the city prosecutor directly with the “alarming information.” When asked about the January 8 events, city prosecutor Rajeev Majumdar said, “For all inquiries on this matter, please reach out to Michael Jones, the city manager as a unified point of contact for the city.”

Acting police chief Ryan King similarly directed all inquiries to Jones. “I have no comment on this matter and any inquiries should be directed to city manager Michael Jones,” said King, who was one of the officers involved in the events, and whose narrative is included in the police report.

Asked whether this incident was a factor in Schubert’s departure from Blaine’s police force, city manager Michael Jones said, “Allen Schubert would need to be consulted about his reasons for resigning.” Jones stated that Schubert did not face any disciplinary action or reprimand as a result of the January 8 events. However, Jones initiated an investigation to gather facts, he said, after learning about the events from chief Schubert at their weekly meeting.

When asked to comment about the events of January 8, Clermont confirmed that they took place. “He said he was UPS and he burst right in,” said Clermont. “It was attempted murder, for God’s sake,” adding, “He backed me into the bathroom, and was tugging at me. He twisted my arm. I couldn’t write for about a month. I felt a pop in my elbow and in my shoulder.” Clermont, who repeatedly went off on tangents about the CIA, President Trump and other political topics, also denied threatening to kill Blaine police.

Asked to respond to Clermont’s allegations, Schubert told The Northern Light: “There was no physical altercation between me and Mr. Clermont. If there had been something like that, the officers should have reported it immediately. The date/time stamps [on the police report] indicate that the officers completed their narratives one week after the incident occurred, and the senior supervisors wrote their police reports over three weeks later.”

Schubert continued: “The most important fact is that an official, objective inquiry had already been completed on January 19. The events in question were not as the incident reports portray them. We had reports that a man with well-documented issues had forced his elderly wife … out of their mutually-owned apartment and she was living in her car. My officers did not know how to help her and were paying money out their own pockets to put her in a hotel room. I took the initiative to find a solution for [her] terrible predicament. It worked. No one was harmed. In fact, [she] benefited greatly.”

Schubert confirmed that he did not face any disciplinary action or reprimand following “an independent and objective inquiry.” He said the incident was not a factor in his separation from employment with the city of Blaine.

When asked about his relationship with the other Blaine police officers, he said: “I was new and wanted to make changes. That seemed to negatively affect my relationships with some of the officers.” He further stated that it was not unusual for him to be wearing plain clothes while on duty, and that he would not be making any further comments regarding the incident. “I consider the matter closed,” he said.