Police arrest suspect after chase and shooting on Route 117 in Paris

According to eyewitness Linda Marie Mercer of Bridgton, there was an exchange of gunfire Monday between police and a handcuffed man in a hospital gown. The man was lying in the ditch with the truck, she said. Linda Marie Mercer photo

PARIS – A handcuffed man threw the Paris police chief out of his truck on Monday, took his gun and sped off in the police chief’s vehicle until he crashed into a ditch, exchanged gunfire with a handful of pursuing officers and then stole a sheriff’s patrol car and took out again.

Gary Porter, 37, was finally caught after officers chased him following a second accident. He remained in custody Monday night.

Despite the dangerous and chaotic adventure that closed roads and stunned the community, no one was seriously injured, authorities said.

According to a news release from the Maine Department of Public Safety, Porter, who has no permanent address, was charged with two counts of theft, assault on a police officer, fleeing, eluding and bail jumping.

Police said Porter was first arrested at 7:18 a.m. on a warrant for theft. For health reasons, he was initially taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway.

As Paris Police Chief Mike Dailey took the handcuffed Porter from the hospital to the Oxford County Jail, the arrested man somehow slipped his cuffed hands from his back to his front, according to authorities.

According to the press release, Porter then fought with Dailey, got into the driver’s seat of the chief’s police car and threw Dailey out as he drove off.

Officers from Norway, Oxford and Paris departments, Cumberland and Oxford County sheriff’s deputies, Maine State Police and firefighters pursued Porter until he crashed the truck into a ditch on Route 117 in Paris.

Witness Linda Marie Mercer, from Bridgton, was trapped behind stopped police vehicles next to the truck after it went into the ditch.

Mercer said she watched the scene before her: A man in a hospital gown got out of the truck and opened fire on police officers on the street in front of her. She said the officers immediately fired back.

The man must have been “couching” in the ditch, Mercer said, because as soon as police stopped shooting, he got up and ran. She said he was handcuffed and had a gun in his hand.

Mercer said he jumped into what looked like another police vehicle on the street in front of her and drove off.

In a video taken by Mercer from the scene, officers can be heard asking Porter to surrender and then exchanging gunfire.

According to the press release, after the shooting, Porter stole an Oxford County Sheriff’s Department vehicle, which he crashed shortly afterwards.

Porter was arrested and taken to a local hospital for injuries, the release said. He was again taken to the Oxford County Jail.

All officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave, a common practice in officer-involved shootings.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office is investigating the incident. The Maine Attorney General’s Office investigates all officer-involved shootings.

A spokesman for Stephens Memorial Hospital referred questions to law enforcement.

Moss said Maine State Police, the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office and the Norway, Oxford and Paris police departments were present at the end of the incident. Cumberland County Sheriff’s deputies were also on scene.

Many streets in southern Paris were closed during and after the incident. Mercer, who managed to leave the scene and make her way to her appointment, said there were still police vehicles in the area when she left.

Staff writer Christopher Williams contributed to this report.

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