WALDOBORO — A 57-year-old Waldoboro man who shot a town police officer before being killed Sunday died of gunshot wounds to the head and torso, according to autopsy results.
The results of the autopsy of Jon Alspaugh were released Tuesday by the state medical examiner’s office.
Alspaugh was shot at his home at the end of River Bend Road after Waldoboro police Officer John Lash and Sgt. Jamie Wilson responded to a report of a domestic disturbance about 1 a.m. Sunday.
Alspaugh exchanged gunfire with the officers, and was killed.
Lash suffered bruised ribs, but his bulletproof vest prevented more serious injuries by stopping a bullet fired by Alspaugh.
Lash, who has been with the department for three years, is on paid administrative leave while the Maine Attorney General’s Office conducts an investigation, which is standard procedure when police use deadly force, Waldoboro Police Chief Bill Labombarde said Tuesday.
Brian MacMaster of the Maine Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday that such investigations are lengthy, and he could not give a date when the investigation would be completed. He said no more information would be released until then.
Labombarde said that an outside review will also be conducted to make sure department policies were followed. He said the review panel will be composed of a law enforcement official, an elected town official and a citizen.
While Labombarde said he will not be involved in the review, he nevertheless supported his officers.
“I back my officers 110 percent, in this case 150 percent,” Labombarde said.
The chief said Lash did not want to talk publicly about the shooting.
Alspaugh had lived in Waldoboro since about 2000 and worked as assistant director of the Rockland wastewater treatment plant for more than a year. He had previously worked at the FMC carrageenan manufacturing plant in Rockland.
Alspaugh’s wife and another family member were at the home when the shooting occurred. No one else was injured.
Lash was taken to the Miles campus of Lincoln Healthcare in Damariscotta and was later released.
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