CHESTER, Maine - Maine Attorney General Janet T. Mills says three Maine state troopers reasonably believed they faced imminent deadly force when they shot and killed a man during a Chester standoff.
Sgt. Nicholas Grass, Sgt. Donald Shead, and Det. Greg Mitchell fatally shot 35-year-old Shad Gerken of Woodville in September after an hours-long standoff in a wooded area. Mills' report says Gerken was armed with a knife and had threatened to kill an 8-year-old child earlier in the day.
The report states that Gerken's mental health history included bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other conditions. The report says it is beyond the authority of the attorney general to determine Gerken's "motivations, his state of mind, or the medical or psychological underpinnings of his behavior and actions.''