The chaotic chain of events involving at least five law enforcement agencies began when Gary Porter, already wanted on a felony theft warrant, was discovered passed out in a chicken coop on Monday, arrested and taken to a hospital for evaluation, police said.
A chase ensued, joined by officers from Norway, Oxford and Paris, sheriff’s deputies and state police in a mostly rural part of Maine about 48 miles from Portland, police said. They eventually deployed spike mats that blew the tires and caused Porter to crash into a ditch.A bystander’s video captured at least part of the gunfire at that point: With his hands still in cuffs, Porter circles around the truck and jumps into another police vehicle in full view of officers.
But the departments involved didn't release key details of the confrontation, including whether Porter obtained a weapon or fired it. They also didn't release information about the extent of his injuries. The Office of the Maine Attorney General said Friday that Porter was shot, treated and released from a hospital.
The bystander who recorded the video of the roadside confrontation in Paris, Linda Marie Mercer, said she had arrived on the scene to see a truck in the ditch and numerous police vehicles alongside it. She said she heard gunfire and saw officers shooting into the truck. She thought the person in the truck might have been killed — the officers appeared to relax.