Another deadly shooting involving police has occurred in Maine, the fourth in less than a month.
When Augusta Police Sergeant Christopher Blodgett and Officer Sebastian Guptill arrived at the Bread of Life Ministry Homeless Shelter Wednesday night they found one man injured and 34-year-old Dustin Paradis allegedly brandishing a knife. Police says when the officers confronted Paradis, things escalated quickly and both officers fired, killing Paradis at the scene.
The Maine Attorney General's office says the Augusta case is the tenth shooting involving police officers in Maine this year, doubling the number of cases reported last year. Augusta Police Chief Jared Mills says dangerous confrontations between police and the public, are occurring more frequently.
Chief Mills says a mental health worker with the police department could not get to the scene quickly enough to help the officers, who had little time to react.
Neither Blodgett Nor Guptill was injured and both are on paid administrative leave while Augusta police and the attorney general's office investigate the case to determine whether deadly force was justified. Mills says this is the first shooting incident for Blodgett and the second for Guptill.
