Two deputies from the York County Sheriff’s Office were justified in their use of deadly force during an armed confrontation last year at a home in Arundel, the Maine Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday.
Sgt. Steven Thistlewood and Deputy Heath Mains shot and killed 37-year-old Chad Dionne at his home on 267 Old Alfred Road in Arundel early in the morning on May 29, 2017.
Police were investigating after Dionne’s wife left the residence to report a domestic assault. Several witnesses reported that Dionne “was highly intoxicated” according to the report, dated Nov. 28 and signed by Deputy Attorney General Lisa J. Marchese.
When the deputies arrived at the home, Dionne came to the door with a handgun. The AG’s Office said that he aimed at Thistlewood and ignored commands to drop the gun. Thistlewood and Mains fired their weapons. Dionne retreated inside the home where “he began shouting for the deputies to kill him.”
Police used a battering ram to open the door, and the deputies rendered medical aid before Dionne was placed in an ambulance. He died at a Biddeford hospital. The state medical examiner determined that Dionne was shot five times.
His blood alcohol level was 0.242 percent, about three times the legal driving limit of 0.08.
“It was reasonable for Sgt. Thistlewood and Deputy Mains to believe it necessary to use deadly force to protect themselves from serious bodily injury or death. All the facts and circumstances point to the conclusion that Sgt. Thistlewood and Deputy Mains acted in self-defense,” the AG’s Office said.
Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
Correction: This story was updated at 9:36 a.m. on November 30, 2018 to clarify that Chad Dionne did not fire his weapon in the confrontation with York County Sheriff’s deputies.
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