Police kill two men in 2 incidents Waldoboro, Rumford sites of fatal shootings

WALDOBORO – Two fatal shootings by Maine police in separate incidents in Waldoboro and Rumford during the weekend are being investigated by the state Attorney General’s Office and Maine State Police.

A Waldoboro police officer shot and killed a Whitefield man early Sunday after the man twice engaged the officer in a fight after a routine traffic stop, Brian MacMaster, director of investigations for the Maine Attorney General’s Office, said Sunday afternoon.

On Saturday, a 46-year-old man was shot and killed by a state trooper after a seven-hour standoff at his former wife’s home in Rumford.

Gregori Jackson, 18, of Whitefield was shot when he got into a physical fight with Waldoboro Officer Zack Curtis after the car he was riding in was stopped for weaving and crossing the centerline, according to MacMaster.

MacMaster said the vehicle was stopped about 2:15 a.m. on Route 220 about four miles out of Waldoboro toward Friendship. At some point during the traffic stop, Jackson got out of the car and began fighting with the officer. Although complete details were not available, MacMaster said Jackson then fled into nearby woods and Curtis followed.

After a brief chase on foot, Curtis caught Jackson in the woods and a second physical struggle began. It was during this second altercation that Jackson was fatally shot.

MacMaster said the two teenagers in the car apparently did not know Jackson well. The juveniles, one of whom was the driver, remained with the car during the entire incident, he said. Police have not released their names.

Curtis has been a part-time reserve officer with the Waldoboro Police Department for about three years, MacMaster said. “It appears he is fairly new but did have some experience,” MacMaster said.

The shooting is under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, state police and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.

Scott White, 46, of Rumford was shot and killed late Saturday afternoon as he left the home and was confronted by the state police tactical team. He was pronounced dead at Rumford Hospital.

Spokesman Stephen McCausland of the state Public Safety Department said White was out on bail on an attempted murder charge involving a recent knife attack on his former wife. He allegedly entered her home at midmorning Saturday, when no one was home. Neighbors notified local police.

Rumford police, believing White was armed with knives, asked for help from the tactical team. Police said he also threatened to set the house on fire.

Tactical team members began to negotiate with White after they arrived.

White left the house at about 5:20 p.m. to retrieve a telephone from a state police negotiator, and troopers confronted him to make an arrest.

“He was Tasered, and then he continued to approach officers when the shooting occurred,” McCausland said. A Taser gun delivers an electric shock to incapacitate a suspect.

Trooper Tim Black, a member of the tactical unit, shot White. Black was placed on administrative leave with pay while state police and the state Attorney General’s Office conduct investigations into the shooting.

All shootings in which police officers are involved are investigated by those state agencies.

In August, White pleaded not guilty to an attempted murder charge stemming from an incident at home on June 28. Earlier police reports said White allegedly stabbed Tracey White, 47, three times with a 6-inch steak knife.

An Oxford County grand jury indicted White in August on charges of attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault. He recently made bail, which had been set at $25,000 cash or $50,000 property.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.