A Bridgton police officer was justified in using deadly force in Naples last year when he shot at the rear tire of a car as the driver was trying to flee, the Maine Attorney General’s Office has found.

The investigative report, released Tuesday, clears Officer Todd Smolinsky of any wrongdoing last Sept. 23 when he shot at the car driven by Melissa Penpraese, 45, of Naples, after the woman allegedly backed into the officer’s car and then drove away. The officer’s use of his firearm was not disclosed in initial reports on the incident.

“It was reasonable for the officer to believe that deadly force was imminently threatened against him, as well as others whom Ms. Penpraese was apt to encounter, and it was reasonable for him to believe that it was necessary to use deadly force – shooting at the vehicle in attempt to disable it – to protect himself from the imminent threat of deadly force posed against him by Ms. Penpraese’s actions,” the report states.

The report states that Smolinsky initially pulled over Penpraese’s vehicle for speeding on Route 302. He smelled alcohol when he went to her driver’s window, and she did not have her license. When he returned to his cruiser to communicate with a dispatcher, the woman drove off.

During the ensuing chase that reached speeds of 65 mph, Smolinsky said Penpraese drove erratically, passed another vehicle in a no-passing zone, made turns without signaling and went through at least one stop sign without signaling. She drove to Accomac Road in Naples, one of a network of dirt roads in the area, and lost control of her vehicle by sliding sideways, according to the report.

“As Officer Smolinsky approached, the woman backed up and struck his cruiser. The woman drove forward and stopped. Officer Smolinsky got out of his cruiser with his duty weapon drawn and shouted commands for the woman to get out of the vehicle as he approached it. He was a foot from the side of the vehicle when it began to accelerate quickly forward with the rear of the vehicle swerving. The officer shot once at the rear left tire in attempt to disable the vehicle and stop the woman from driving off,” the report states.

The woman drove off despite the warnings and gunshot, and by the time Smolinsky caught up to her vehicle she had abandoned it and run off into the woods. Penpraese was eventually captured and charged with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, eluding an officer, operating after suspension and failure to provide a correct name to a law enforcement officer. Those criminal charges remain pending against her, according to the report.

Attorney General Janet Mills concluded in the report that Smolinsky acted in self-defense and possibly to protect others when he fired the shot. Detectives in her office conducted the investigation.

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