By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

A Cape Elizabeth woman faces multiple charges after police say her car crashed into the rear of a South Portland police cruiser last Saturday.

Lisa Cioe, 44, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with aggravated assault and two counts of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon. She also was charged after the crash with operating under the influence. The  crash occurred about 1:35 a.m. on Broadway in South Portland. 

The additional charges were added because South Portland Police Officer Seth Page was injured in the accident.

Cioe met South Portland Police Sgt. Steve Webster at the Cumberland County jail Tuesday and was taken into custody. 

Her bail was set at $10,000 surety or $250 cash. She paid the $250 and was immediately released. She is expected to make her initial court appearance sometime within the next few months Webster said.

Webster and Angela Cannon, a prosecutor for the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, agreed Cioe’s bail was appropriate because she has no prior criminal record and many conditions were attached to the bail warrant.

“You have good people that do bad things. I don’t get the impression that she is a bad person,” Webster said. “She is being held accountable and she’s not sitting in jail where she’s not getting any help.”

Cioe’s bail conditions subject her to random searches and forbid her from using alcohol, driving a motor vehicle or possessing car keys.

The accident occurred Saturday when Cioe hit a South Portland cruiser from behind and pushed it into another cruiser, according to police. Both cars were parked on Broadway while officers Page and Jeffrey Levesque conducted an OUI investigation.  They had just taken another person into custody.

Page was thrown away from the cruiser, transported to the hospital and released after being treated for a leg injury. 

“He (Page) was kind of half in the car and half out when they hit and that knocked him out of the vehicle,” said South Portland Police Sgt. Joe Dell’Aquila. “He’s been off the last couple of days. He will be on desk duty until he gets his doctor’s clearance.”

One of the cruisers is still in service with only minor damage, but the other cruiser received severe damage to the frame, back end and front end. 

 “It’s a question of whether they’re going to total it,” said Dell’Aquila. “Usually, when there’s frame damage on a police car, it puts them out of service.”

Cioe and a passenger in her car were transported to the hospital, treated for non-life threatening injuries and released.  Police estimate damage to her 2001 KIA at $10,000.

Officer Levesque and the person arrested for OUI were not injured but were evaluated on scene by South Portland Fire-EMS.

Cioe was drinking at the Griffin Club in South Portland Saturday night before the accident, according to owner Scott Parker.

Griffin Club bartender Eddie Buck stopped serving Cioe an hour before she left the bar and urged her not to drive.

“He (Buck) called her a cab. The cab was here. He escorted her out to the cab. She refused to get in. Then she got into her own car,” Parker said. “He tried real hard. He did everything he possibly could.”

Buck also called the police after Cioe drove off but they could not respond in time to stop the accident.

Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237, or news@inthesentry.com.