MNeagle
8th July 2010, 01:00 PM
AUGUSTA, Maine - Law enforcement officers shot and killed an armed military veteran Thursday in woods within sight of the entrance of a Veterans Affairs hospital outside Augusta, state Attorney General Janet Mills said.
The morning confrontation near the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Togus involved a local police officer and two game wardens, Mills said. It was not clear whether the officers were fired upon by the victim, she said.
But "From the preliminary investigation, it appears to be defense of themselves and defense of third parties," she said.
Paul Stevens, who witnessed the shooting, said officers fired on a man armed with what looked like a rifle. About eight shots were fired, and the man fell to the ground, he said.
The victim's name was not immediately released.
Mills said he was not a resident or member of the VA hospital staff.
"It's a sad thing," said Glenwood Shaw, Stevens' uncle, who lives across the street from the site of the shooting. "I just think it's awful for someone to lose their life that like."
The man who was killed was apparently the owner of a Toyota pickup with a veteran's license plate that was parked about 40 to 50 feet off the road, Shaw said. Shaw said he'd seen the pickup parked in the area previously.
The VA hospital, which has its own federally licensed police force, may have gone into lockdown during the incident, Mills said. Hospital officials did not immediately return calls for comment. They were quoted by media saying that patients and staff were fine.
By law, the attorney general's office in Maine investigates whenever officers use lethal force.
http://www.startribune.com/nation/98035219.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD 3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl
The morning confrontation near the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Togus involved a local police officer and two game wardens, Mills said. It was not clear whether the officers were fired upon by the victim, she said.
But "From the preliminary investigation, it appears to be defense of themselves and defense of third parties," she said.
Paul Stevens, who witnessed the shooting, said officers fired on a man armed with what looked like a rifle. About eight shots were fired, and the man fell to the ground, he said.
The victim's name was not immediately released.
Mills said he was not a resident or member of the VA hospital staff.
"It's a sad thing," said Glenwood Shaw, Stevens' uncle, who lives across the street from the site of the shooting. "I just think it's awful for someone to lose their life that like."
The man who was killed was apparently the owner of a Toyota pickup with a veteran's license plate that was parked about 40 to 50 feet off the road, Shaw said. Shaw said he'd seen the pickup parked in the area previously.
The VA hospital, which has its own federally licensed police force, may have gone into lockdown during the incident, Mills said. Hospital officials did not immediately return calls for comment. They were quoted by media saying that patients and staff were fine.
By law, the attorney general's office in Maine investigates whenever officers use lethal force.
http://www.startribune.com/nation/98035219.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD 3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl