A 61-year-old Phillips man was fatally shot Tuesday evening by a Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputy

Police say the incident began around 5:47 p.m. when the sheriff’s office received multiple calls about a man with a gun who was possibly suicidal. One caller told police they thought the man was holding a BB gun, Sheriff Scott Nichols said in a statement.

After a second caller reported the same incident, Deputy Jesse Clement found the man on the side of a bridge on Salem Road in Phillips and tried to talk the man, later identified as Lawrence Scott, into getting help.

Nichols said “Deputy Clement repeatedly told Mr. Scott to drop the weapon, but he refused,” and when Scott raised his gun toward Clement he “was shot by the deputy.”

First aid was provided, but Scott died at the scene.

Clement was placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure when officers use deadly force.

The Office of the Maine Attorney General is investigating the shooting.

Clement, who has over 10 years of law enforcement experience, earned a criminal justice degree at University of Maine Augusta. He began his career as a corrections officer at the Kennebec County Correctional Facility in Augusta.

Clement worked for the Carrabassett Valley Police Department for two years before going to the Farmington Police Department in 2016, where he later earned the rank of sergeant in 2021.

In March he became a deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.