WALDOBORO — The Waldoboro man who was shot and killed after he fired at a police officer responding to a domestic disturbance call had filed for divorce less than two days earlier.
Jon Michael Alspaugh, 57, died of gunshot wounds to the head and torso on Jan. 22 after police responded to the home at the end of the River Bend Road. Police say he was shot after firing at Waldoboro Police Officer John Lash.
Lash suffered bruised ribs, but was spared more serious injuries because his bulletproof vest stopped the bullet.
Alspaugh’s wife and another family member were at the home when the shooting occurred. No one else was injured.
In divorce paperwork filed on Jan. 20 at the Lincoln County Courthouse in Wiscasset, Alspaugh had declared that there were no disputes over real estate, personal property, spousal support, or attorney fees.
The couple had married in West Liberty, Ohio, in June 1998 and had moved to the Rockland area in about 2000. Alspaugh had worked at FMC’s carrageenan plant from 2013 through 2015 before taking a job in November 2015 as the assistant director of Rockland’s wastewater treatment plant.
Plant director Terry Pinto said Tuesday he was shocked that Alspaugh would have committed such a violent act.
“He was calm, cool and collected. He was a nice person,” Pinto said.
Pinto said he was aware that Alspaugh was going through a divorce but had never said anything negative about his wife or his marital situation.
Alspaugh turned 57 two weeks before he was killed.
His wife did not respond to a request for comment.
Lash remains on paid administrative leave while the Maine Attorney General’s Office conducts an investigation – standard procedure when deadly force is used, Waldoboro Police Chief Bill Labombarde said Tuesday.
Brian MacMaster of the Attorney General’s Office said he could not predict when the investigation would be completed. He said no further information on the shooting would be released until then.
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