AUGUSTA — A Marine Patrol officer and part-time Washington County deputy sheriff was justified in shooting and wounding a Machiasport couple in 2017, the Maine attorney general’s office ruled.
Law enforcement officers tried to deescalate the situation during a 90-minute standoff in which a gun was raised several times before officer Matthew Carter fired seven shots, the report said.
Carter discharged his gun after Jason Jackson, 37, put his finger on the trigger of his own gun, and Tiffany Smith, 35, was also hit when she moved into the line of fire, the report said.
The incident unfolded after Jackson fled an East Machias home after a woman called police to report he had demanded money. Jackson traveled to Smith’s home in Machiasport, where the shooting happened.
Jackson, whose gun was unloaded, pleaded no contest to robbery, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and other charges, the Bangor Daily News reported. Part of his left arm amputated after the shooting.
In more than 100 reviews of police use of deadly force since 1990, the attorney general’s office has never found that an officer was not justified in his or her actions, the newspaper said.
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