Victim in Waldoboro shooting was out on bail

WALDOBORO – The Whitefield teenager who was shot and killed by a local police officer over the weekend had been out on bail for a number of traffic charges at the time of the shooting.

Gregori Jackson, 18, of Whitefield was scheduled to appear in Portland District Court in November on charges stemming from a July 28 arrest in Cumberland County.

Jackson was charged with failure to stop for an officer, driving to endanger, operating without a license and operating while under the influence of intoxicants, a court clerk confirmed Monday. The conditions of Jackson’s bail were not available, the clerk said.

An administrative assistant at the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office said court rules prevented her from releasing the terms of Jackson’s bail, or additional details about his case, over the telephone.

Jackson was killed early Sunday during a fight with Waldoboro reserve police Officer Zachary Curtis that began moments after a routine traffic stop. The shooting occurred a few miles south of town on Friendship Road early Sunday morning. Curtis has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.

According to police reports, the incident began at approximately 2:15 a.m. when Curtis pulled a vehicle over that he had observed weaving and crossing the centerline. At some point during the traffic stop, Jackson apparently got out of the vehicle and began fighting with Officer Curtis. Jackson then bolted from Curtis and ran into nearby woods.

Curtis picked up the chase and struggled again with Jackson when he caught up to him in the woods. It was during the second altercation that Jackson was shot. A neighbor, who declined to be identified, said Monday that she was awakened by multiple shots that morning.

According to Brian MacMaster, director of investigations for the Attorney General’s Office, there were two other teenagers in the car with Jackson when Curtis pulled the vehicle over. They apparently did not know Jackson well but were giving him a ride to the Friendship area.

Both of the teenagers, one of whom was the driver, remained with the car while Jackson and Curtis had their fatal altercation, according to MacMaster. Authorities are withholding the names of the two youths because both are minors, Assistant Attorney General David Loughran said Monday. Loughran did not know whether an autopsy on Jackson had been completed.

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

According to the Courier Gazette in Rockland, Curtis was one of five reserve officers with the department, which has a police chief and four full-time officers. Curtis also worked as a guard at the Maine State Prison for a brief period. The report also indicated Jackson lived in Whitefield with his brother, attended Erskine Academy in South China and Cony High School in Augusta but did not graduate.