TOPSHAM, Maine — A dashcam video released by the Maine Attorney General's Office provides the public with a new perspective into a deadly police shooting in Topsham this week.
The incident occurred Monday afternoon near the Merrymeeting Bridge. Traffic in the area of Route 196 was rerouted, and the bridge was closed for several hours.
Police said they responded to the scene after a caller reported a woman making "homicidal and suicidal statements." The caller also said she might have a gun, according to police.
A dashcam video, 2 minutes and 18 seconds, of a Sagadahoc County Sherriff's Office cruiser obtained by NEWS CENTER Maine shows police making several attempts to get Kourtney Sherwood, 37, out of her pickup truck.
"Kourtney, all the officers here, we want to get you some help," Deputy Sheriff Steven Thibeault is heard saying in the video. "I know you're upset. I don't want to make things any worse."
At one point, Thibeault references Sherwood's partner, saying they were "concerned" for her.
Then he ask he to roll down her window and show her hands so police could see she is unarmed.
"You're not in any trouble. We just want to get you some help, Kourtney," Thibeault is heard saying.
Just seconds later, the window of the truck Sherwood is in rolls down, and a handgun appears, pointing back toward the cruiser.
Sherwood appears to pull the trigger, and a single shot is heard.
The AG's Office said the audible shot was the one fired by Topsham police Officer Matthew Bowers at Sherwood.
Sherwood was seriously injured and taken to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick and later to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she later died.
The video did not show any other camera angles from other cruisers or police body cams. It also did not reveal what happened after shots were fired.
No officers were ever seen approaching the vehicle.
"The video released is the only one that qualifies as 'video depicting the use of deadly force' and, thus, the only one publicly available," Nicole Sacre of the Maine Attorney General's office told NEWS CENTER Maine in an email.
An investigation by the AG's office is ongoing. Bowers was placed on paid administrative leave pending that investigation.
Sherwood's wife, Stacy Beverage, shared photos with NEWS CENTER Maine Friday but did not offer any comment.
Beverage told The Times Record, a Brunswick-based newspaper, that Sherwoood called her before the incident and said she was pulled over by the Maine State Police after running a red light.
She then asked Beverage to get the vehicle, because Sherwood expected she would be arrested, the paper reported, but Sherwood simply was issued two summonses and let go.
That was when Sherwood reportedly started making suicidal statements, prompting Beverage to call Topsham police, the paper reported.
If you or someone you love needs help, call the Maine Crisis Line at 1-888-568-1112.