AUGUSTA, Maine — Editor's note: An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information provided by the Office of the Attorney General regarding Pfister's toxicology results. That information has since been removed.
Stephen Pfister, a medical professional and Peter Pfister's father, reportedly reviewed the report and identified an error.
The father's claims were reviewed by the attorney general's office, and the office confirmed the error.
"The original decision from the attorney general's office and the article from NEWS CENTER stated that the blood tests performed identified the presence of barbiturates, cannabinoids, and gabapentin. This is false," Stephen Pfister wrote in a statement to NEWS CENTER Maine on Jan. 18. "Those tests were performed but were negative. I know this as fact, as I have a copy of the autopsy report and through recent communication with the Office of [Chief] Medical Examiner."
Stephen Pfister also reported in the letter that his son was acting "out of character" that day and was reportedly having "hallucinations and delusions" at the time of the incident.
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Original story, with incorrect information removed:
Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey has determined that Hancock County Sheriff's officials and a Maine State Police corporal were justified when they shot and killed 27-year-old Peter Pfister in East Blue Hill in June.
In a letter Wednesday to Maine State Police Lt. Col. Brian Scott and Hancock County Sheriff Scott Kane, Frey said an investigation found that Hancock County Det. Scott Duff and Deputy Dylan Hall and Maine State Police Cpl. Caleb McGary believed Pfister was about to use deadly force against McGary and Hall, and Pfister had refused repeated requests to get on the ground and not reach for his waistband.
"When Corporal McGary lowered his rifle, Mr. Pfister responded by reaching for his waistband, producing a semi-automatic handgun, and appeared prepared to shoot the officers standing in front of him," Frey wrote.
The officers had received information that Pfister was suffering from delusions, had assaulted and seriously injured his mother, had access to guns, "and was likely to shoot officers if confronted," Frey said. "All the facts and circumstances point to the conclusion that Detective Duff, Corporal McGary, and Deputy Hall acted in defense of themselves, other officers at the scene, and Mr. Pfister's mother when they shot Mr. Pfister."
According to the report, Pfister's father called 911 from Bangor at 1:46 a.m. on June 21, 2022, to report that his son was experiencing a mental health episode at his East Blue Hill home where he lived with his mother, had decided his mother was a demon and was beating his mother and about to kill her.
Police learned during subsequent phone calls from the father that Pfister had texted him earlier saying that people were breaking into their home and that his son had guns. He said that during a video call with his son, he saw his ex-wife, bloodied, and saw blood on his son. He said his son was holding his ex-wife prisoner, thought she was a demon, and he was going to kill "the demon."
The man warned the dispatcher that his son was dangerous and to be careful. He said the likelihood that his son would shoot at police was "10 out of 10."
McGary, Hall, and Duff were outside the house at about 5 a.m. when Pfister walked outside and down the driveway toward them, Frey wrote. They saw a long knife on Pfister's hip and ordered Pfister to the ground and to not touch his waistband, but Pfister did not comply, saying he was not going to go to prison for life.
Officers saw Pfister quickly move his left hand behind his back, pull out a black semi-automatic pistol and begin to raise it as if to shoot. Duff, McGary, and Hall all fired at Pfister.
Pfister died at the scene. The pistol found near his body contained 15 cartridges in the magazine, and he was armed with 14-inch and 9-inch knives.
Pfister's mother suffered serious facial injuries inflicted by her son.
The Bangor Daily News reported in June that each of the officers who shot Pfister had used deadly force previously, and one -- Duff, a member of the state police tactical team -- had used it twice.
The Blue Hill police shooting is just the latest deemed justified by the Office of the Maine Attorney General.