AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine Attorney General Janet Mills says a state trooper acted in self-defense when firing a gun at a man after a chase last year.
The attorney general says Maine State Police Sgt. Jason Madore fired but missed 34-year-old Shane Prior, of Cushing, who died not from a law officer’s bullet but from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in August 2016.
Mills said troopers knew Prior had shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend before leading them on a chase. She said Madore fired after hearing a gunshot and believing Prior was shooting at officers.
The Maine attorney general’s office investigates all police shootings.
Under Maine law, it’s permissible for an officer to use deadly force if the officer believes there’s an imminent threat against someone.
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