Oxford County Sheriff Christopher Wainwright is under investigation after he told one of his deputies to go easy on a case.

According to the Bangor Daily News, deputy Tyler Fornier allegedly reported to his sergeant that he had felt pressured by Wainwright to “go easy” on a case of a woman Wainwright knew. Fornier cited the woman for a traffic violation in August for having an open container of alcohol in her vehicle.

In a leaked recording of a phone call obtained by the Bangor Daily News, Wainwright can be heard telling deputy Fornier how he had asked Fornier to handle the case and expressed his anger towards Fornier for reporting his request to sergeant Timothy Ontengco.

“What I just said to you, unless you heard something differently was, ‘Hey, I don’t know when this goes to court, or it has yet, but if it does, if you could do anything for it, I’d greatly appreciate it,’” Wainwright said in the recording.

Wainwright can also be heard telling Fornier that as sheriff, he has authority over him.

“You all work for me. And if I tell you not to write any f*****g tickets ever again, you won’t write any tickets ever again. You know what I’m saying? That’s the sheriff. It’s a constitutional office,” Wainwright says in the recording.

The Bangor Daily News says after they informed the sheriff that they had record of the phone call, Wainwright issued a statement Friday apologizing for his actions. He said in the statement that while he didn’t do anything illegal, he admits to violating Maine’s law enforcement code of ethics by asking his deputy to “show favor toward someone.”

The Oxford County Commissioners Office said Thursday that Wainwright had been under investigation, and they plan to discuss his alleged misconduct in their next meeting.

While the county commissioners don’t have the jurisdiction to take action against an elected sheriff, they can send a complaint to the governor, who has the power to remove a sheriff from office.