Maine's attorney general says Westbrook police were justified in their use of deadly force in a fatal November shooting.
Ryan Nichols, 37, was fatally shot in an altercation with police early on Nov. 30, 2024. Police responded after a 911 caller reported he was assaulting her family members, according to a letter from Attorney General Aaron Frey.
Before the shooting, Nichols repeatedly ignored officers' commands, and they used tasers and rubber bullets in failed attempts to restrain him.
Officers shot Nichols after he ran to a neighboring house, climbed a deck and swung a nearby set of wind chimes at another officer, causing him to fall down the stairs.
The officers told investigators they thought Nichols could have killed the police officer on the stairs.
Frey concluded that the officers could have reasonably believed they were acting in defense of the fallen officer at the time they used deadly force.
