PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- After an investigation by the Maine Attorney General's office, a Portland police officer's decision to take the shot that killed Chance Baker was found to be justified.
That was the conclusion of a report released on Monday by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Marchese.
The report detailed the events leading up to the shooting in the area around Union Station Plaza in Portland on Feb. 10, 2017. Police acted to subdue Baker based on emergency calls they had received about an armed man who appeared to be acting erratically.
Police said Baker was carrying what looked like a rifle. They ordered him to drop it, but police say he refused. Sgt. Nicholas Goodman shot Baker, saying later that he feared for his safety, as well as the safety of fellow officers and people in the area.
Baker died from the gunshot wound at Maine Medical Center. He was 22 years old. The apparent rifle he'd been carrying turned out to be a pellet gun.
Marchese wrote in her report:
It was reasonable for Sgt. Goodman to believe it necessary to use deadly force to protect himself and others from serious bodily injury or death. All the facts and circumstances point to the conclusion that Sgt. Goodman acted in defense of himself and others.
While the investigation into his actions was pending, standard procedure dictated that Goodman remain on administrative leave.
Goodman was involved in another fatal shooting on the same street in 2008. Goodman opened fired on Albert Wayne Kittrell after being dragged by his car during a traffic stop. As with the Baker case, the Attorney General's office found Goodman to be justified in his actions.
