Bangor police confirmed Thursday that the man who was shot and killed by an officer during a foot chase Tuesday night exchanged gunfire with the officer.

Bangor Police Chief Mark Hathaway issued a statement that said Joshua Jozefowicz, 23, of Swan’s Island had a loaded gun.

“Local media outlets are reporting that witnesses near the scene of the officer-involved shooting on Tuesday evening heard gunshots from what they believed to be two different firearms,” Hathaway said in the statement. “The investigation is at a stage where we can confirm that Mr. Jozefowicz was in fact in possession of a loaded firearm, and that he discharged the firearm at some point during the foot chase.”

Witnesses told several media outlets that they heard about 10 to 12 gunshots during the incident.

Hathaway did not say in his statement how many shots were fired by police or by Jozefowicz.

Hathaway said the state Medical Examiner’s Office did an autopsy Wednesday that showed Jozefowicz died of multiple gunshot wounds. No further information was released.

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At the time of the shooting, Jozefowicz was being chased by Officer Ryan Jones after a traffic stop at Leadbetters, a gas station and convenience store at 1105 Hammond St. Jones is now on paid leave.

Police said Jones chased Jozefowicz into a wooded area behind Leadbetters. Shortly after the shooting, police handcuffed a woman who was sitting in the car that Jozefowicz had been driving. Police have not said how she may have been involved.

Jozefowicz pleaded guilty in 2013 in Hancock County Superior Court to felony possession of oxycodone, and the district attorney dropped a charge of felony drug trafficking, according to the State Bureau of Identification.

He was given a suspended sentence and prohibited from carrying a gun, according to state records. He was fined $200 for carrying a concealed weapon in Ellsworth in 2012.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office will investigate the Bangor shooting, as it does after any use of deadly force by a police officer.

According to Brian MacMaster, director of investigation for the Attorney General’s Office, the state has been asked to investigate eight officer-involved shootings in Maine this year.

Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com


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