ORRINGTON, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Jeff Reynolds was a close friend of Mark Ellis, the man who was killed during a standoff in Orrington last week.
Police say Ellis called authorities and made several threats. A 12-hour standoff ensued, ending in an exchange of gunfire where Ellis was killed by State Police.Reynolds is speaking out now because he wants people to know more about his friend than the final moments of his life.
"He was a very kind loving gentlemen, great with kids, loved to set up camp fires love to do things for people," he said.
Reynolds remembers the day Mark Ellis helped him fix the door that blew off his home in the middle of the night in mid-winter. He also remembers the weekend getaways, the card games, and the laughter too.
"He was just a very caring soul, (he) liked everybody," he said.
He also remembers the brain injury, he says changed his friend forever.
"He fell off a boat, a yacht actually and hit his head on a cement floor and I went to spend time in the hospital and is head was really really damaged in the back."
After that, Reynolds says his friend struggled with mood changes, and depression. He admits, he didn't know how to handle it
"It's probably more of my fault because I didn't understand," he said as he wiped away a tear, "I guess I didn't understand the whole trauma thing and when he made a comment it would get me mad a little bit so I just walk away and let it be."
Their decades long friendship eventually grew strained and they had a falling out. Jeff Reynolds, now regrets that. And he felt compelled to speak so people would know, the man killed in a standoff with police, isn't the man that he knew and loved.
"He probably just had enough of being sick," he said.
The Maine Attorney General's office is investigating the circumstances that led to the officer involved shooting, which is standard procedure.
