close
close
hsuses

Police operation closes Route 117 in Paris

Theo

A 37-year-old man is in custody at the Oxford County Jail facing a half-dozen charges after state police said he shot at police officers and stole two police vehicles on Monday. Almost exactly 12 hours after the initial call, Maine State Police released a joint statement on behalf of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Paris, Norway and Oxford. Paris police officers reportedly responded to a call of a suspicious man at around 7:18 a.m. on Monday. Gary Porter, who police say is homeless, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for theft and was being treated at Stephens Memorial Hospital for unrelated health issues. After he was released from the hospital, Paris Police Chief Mike Dailey drove him to the Oxford County Jail, officials said. As he tried to get him out of the police vehicle at the jail, Porter allegedly managed to pull the handcuffs from the back to the front. Officials say Porter managed to get into the driver’s seat and ejected Chief Dailey from the moving vehicle as he fled. Officers from Norway, Oxford, Paris, Fire and State Police, as well as the Cumberland and Oxford County sheriff’s offices began pursuing Porter, who reportedly crashed on Route 117 in Paris. A state police spokesman told Maine’s Total Coverage that an exchange of gunfire between Porter and the officers who caught up with him suggested that Porter somehow obtained a firearm. The spokesman declined to provide further details about where Porter got the gun, what type of weapon it was and whether that information was known early in the investigation. Porter was reportedly hit but managed to drive away in an Oxford County sheriff’s vehicle before crashing a short distance away. Porter was eventually taken into custody, treated for his injuries at a local hospital and transported again to the Oxford County Jail, where he remains. Porter is now charged with two counts of theft: assault on a police officer, fleeing, eluding an officer and breaching bail conditions. According to police, no officers were injured in the incident. A woman who saw part of the event shared a frightening account with Maine’s Total Coverage: “I was on my way to Wilton,” Linda Marie Mercer wrote on Facebook. “I got onto Streaked Mountain Road and found myself in the middle of a shootout with almost every police officer in the area,” Mercer wrote. She gave Maine’s Total Coverage permission to share her account. “They were shooting back and forth. “I’m not sure if he was arrested or not, but he came running out of the ditch and jumped into another police vehicle and they had to chase him even further,” Mercer said. “He comes out of the ditch in handcuffs and in a hospital gown, but unfortunately when the bullet started flying I ducked behind my car so I couldn’t get any more footage, but you can hear it.” In an on-camera interview with Total Coverage from Maine on Monday afternoon, Mercer said, “I couldn’t tell if he had a gun in his hand. But he just ran up out of the ditch, in the middle of the street, where.” All the police were there. And you can see him get right into a vehicle, it seemed like they were coming from him because the police officers all returned a volley of shots at him As Maine’s Total Coverage reported, you can hear police yelling at the suspect, he should put your hands in the air. “I think we heard a shot from him. I’m not entirely sure it sounded like he was shooting from him and then all the cops returned fire, that was pretty impressive. And it just gives me goosebumps and it scares me. And “You see it on TV too. But that was real,” Mercer said. As per standard procedure, all officers involved are on administrative leave. The Maine Attorney General’s Office is investigating, as it does with any police shooting. The State Police Major Crimes Unit is investigating the crimes Porter is accused of. At around 2:15 p.m., police announced that Route 117 would remain closed until further notice. Our traffic system showed the road from Brett Hill Road to Stock Farm Road between Paris and Buckfield was closed.

Paris, Maine –

A 37-year-old man is in custody at the Oxford County Jail facing a half-dozen charges after state police said he shot at police officers and stole two police vehicles on Monday.

Almost exactly 12 hours after the initial call, Maine State Police released a joint statement on behalf of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Paris, Norway and Oxford.

Paris police officers reportedly responded to a call of a suspicious man at around 7:18 a.m. on Monday. Gary Porter, who police say is homeless, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for theft and was being treated at Stephens Memorial Hospital for unrelated health issues.

After he was released from the hospital, Paris Police Chief Mike Dailey drove him to the Oxford County Jail, officials said. When Porter tried to get him out of the police vehicle at the jail, he allegedly managed to pull the handcuffs from the back to the front. Officials say Porter managed to get into the driver’s seat and ejected Chief Dailey from the moving vehicle as he fled.

Officers from Norway, Oxford, Paris, Fire and State Police, as well as the Cumberland and Oxford County Sheriff’s Offices began pursuing Porter, who reportedly crashed on Route 117 in Paris.

A state police spokesman told Maine’s Total Coverage that an exchange of gunfire between Porter and the officers who caught up with him suggested that Porter somehow obtained a firearm.

The spokesman declined to provide further details about where Porter got the gun, what type of weapon it was and whether that information was known early in the investigation.

Porter was reportedly hit but managed to drive away in an Oxford County sheriff’s vehicle before crashing a short distance away.

Porter was eventually taken into custody, treated for his injuries at a local hospital and transported again to the Oxford County Jail, where he remains.

Porter is now charged with two counts of theft: assault on a police officer, fleeing, eluding an officer and breaching bail conditions.

According to police, no officers were injured in the incident.

A woman who witnessed part of what happened told Maine’s Total Coverage a frightening account.

“I was on my way to Wilton,” Linda Marie Mercer wrote on Facebook. “I got onto Streaked Mountain Road and found myself in the middle of a shootout with almost every police officer in the area,” Mercer wrote. She gave Maine’s Total Coverage permission to share her account.

Paris control and shots

“They were shooting back and forth. “I’m not sure if he was arrested or not, but he came running out of the ditch and jumped into another police vehicle and they had to chase him even further,” Mercer said. “He comes out of the ditch in handcuffs and in a hospital gown, but unfortunately when the bullet started flying I ducked behind my car so I couldn’t get any more footage, but you can hear it.”

In an on-camera interview with Maine’s Total Coverage Monday afternoon, Mercer said, “I couldn’t tell if he had a gun in his hand. But he just ran up out of the ditch, in the middle of the street, where.” All the police were there. And you can see him getting right into a vehicle and then I heard a couple of shots that looked like they were coming from him because the police officers were all returning their shots at him.

In a video shared with Maine’s Total Coverage, police can be heard yelling at the suspect to put his hands in the air.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

“I think we heard a shot from him. I’m not entirely sure it sounded like it was coming from him, and then all the cops returned fire, which was pretty impressive. And it just gives me goosebumps and it scares me. And “You see it on TV too. But that was real,” Mercer said.

As per standard procedure, all officers involved are on administrative leave. The Maine Attorney General’s Office is investigating, as it does with any police shooting. The State Police Major Crimes Unit is investigating the crimes Porter is accused of.

At around 2:15 p.m., police announced that Route 117 would remain closed until further notice. Our traffic system showed the road from Brett Hill Road to Stock Farm Road between Paris and Buckfield was closed.

Related Posts