FARMINGTON — A full-time police officer at the University of Maine at Farmington was placed on paid administrative leave Monday after his arrest on a charge of operating under the influence.

Christopher M. Chase, 43, of Wilton, was arrested Sunday by Farmington police Officer Michael Lyman during a traffic stop on Wilton Road, according to Shane Cote, deputy police chief.

Chase was not on duty at the time of his arrest but was placed on administrative leave with pay, pending further investigation, Livermore Falls police Chief Ernest Steward Jr. said Monday.

Steward is the part-time director of public safety and chief of police at UMF during director Brock Caton’s deployment to Afghanistan.

Chase faced a similar charge, a class D misdemeanor, in November 2008, when a Wilton police officer stopped him for a traffic infraction. At that time, he was a deputy for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and was also off-duty. He was placed on paid administrative leave after his arrest on a charge of drunken driving.

Chase was released Monday from the Franklin County jail in Farmington on $310 cash bail in connection with his latest arrest, according to a detention center officer.

Two other people were arrested and charged with operating under the influence over the weekend, Cote said. Those were routine patrol traffic stops and not part of a police detail seeking drivers under the influence, he said.

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