AUBURN, Maine — A Maine State Police trooper was justified in shooting and killing a Lewiston man during a standoff in 2019, the Office of the Maine Attorney General has determined.
Trooper Andrew Hardy shot and killed Steven Case, 29, of Lewiston during a more than five-hour standoff at a home on Main Street in Auburn on May 21, 2019.
On Tuesday, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey released a report detailing the findings of his office's investigation, which determined that Hardy "acted in defense of the hostage, himself, other officers, and civilians within range of the firearms available to Mr. Case."
According to Frey, Case was holding a 24-year-old woman hostage during the standoff, and Hardy believed Case was "imminently threatening unlawful deadly force against the hostage, the officers, and others within range of the firearms available [to him]."
The investigation determined that Hardy shot and killed Case with a single shot through a window and screen.
Police said at the time that the woman involved was not physically hurt.
