Shooting reportedly justified

SEABROOK, N.H. – Initial investigation indicates a Massachusetts state trooper was justified in shooting a Maine man in New Hampshire after a car chase, the Attorney General’s Office said.

Scott Whitlark, 39, of West Kennebunk, Maine, is being held on $25,000 cash surety after being arraigned Friday in the hospital on drug charges. He also is expected to face charges in Massachusetts.

Whitlark was shot by a state trooper next to Interstate 95 in Seabrook, where a chase from Merrimac, Mass., ended Thursday evening.

Police said a trooper initially stopped Whitlark on Interstate 495 on a traffic violation, and the chase began when the trooper tried to arrest him for possession of a double-edged knife. Investigators said the driver also referred to having a pistol.

“I believe that both the pursuit and the use of force will be found to be legally justified,” said Assistant Attorney General Charles Putnam, “given the fact that there was a weapon taken at the initial stop and comments were made that he had another.”