BELFAST, Maine — After deliberating for more than four hours Tuesday afternoon at Waldo County Superior Court, jurors deadlocked on the most serious charge of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon levied against Iraq War veteran Benjamin Thompson.
The jury found the 28-year-old Swanville man guilty, however, of three other misdemeanor charges — having a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants and failure to stop. They found that Thompson was not guilty of the charge of the threatening display of a weapon.
Thompson was on trial at Waldo County Superior Court on five charges stemming from an incident on the night of June 8 that ended with Thompson being shot four times in the thigh and stomach by Officer Dan Fitzpatrick of the Belfast Police Department. On Monday, the first day of the criminal trial, jurors watched a video that showed Thompson getting shot and then writhing on the ground in pain for nearly 15 minutes until the ambulance arrived. Although Thompson — and the loaded 20-gauge shotgun that Fitzpatrick said was aimed at him at close range — were mostly out of the frame of the police cruiser video camera, the gun is shown falling from his hands as he collapses.
Waldo County Deputy District Attorney Eric Walker said after the jurors returned the deadlocked verdict that he will wait until the jury is finally dismissed by the court and then contact some of the 10 women and two men to see if he can determine how the deadlock occurred. Then he will decide if he wants to have a retrial on the single charge. The decision depended on the jurors determining the mental state of Thompson, which was not a simple matter, Walker said.
“Everybody going into this trial knew there was going to be a battle over the mental state. It’s complex,” he said. “In some ways, the video left more questions than answers about what happened that night.”
If Walker does not want to pursue a retrial, the felony charge simply will be dismissed.
“I felt strongly that we needed a felony conviction so that Mr. Thompson will not have the ability to possess a firearm ever again,” the prosecutor said.
Thompson declined to speak with the BDN on Tuesday evening as he left the courthouse with family and friends.
“We were trying to establish that at the time of the shooting, my client was in an acute mental state,” said defense attorney Steven Peterson. “He was really suicidal. He did not intend to threaten anybody other than himself.”
The attorney had told the jurors during his closing arguments Tuesday morning that his client had been in an “abnormal state of mind” that night. His client suffered so badly from post-traumatic stress disorder after his tours of duty with the U.S. Marines that he sometimes slept with a knife and was driving around Waldo County that night with the stated intention of killing himself, Peterson said.
“Being suicidal is not what most normal people do,” Peterson said. “It is an example of an abnormal condition of mind.”
But Walker, the prosecutor, said Thompson acted deliberately after stopping for police on Swan Lake Avenue and Smart Road.
“There’s one thing Mr. Thompson did not have the right to do. Drink to the point of being intoxicated and drive with a loaded 20-gauge shotgun on the seat beside him, with the hammer cocked back … Most importantly, he did not have the right to point the loaded shotgun at Officer Dan Fitzpatrick.”
Thompson did not take the stand in his own defense during the second day of the trial, being presided over Tuesday by Justice Robert Murray. But the defendant listened quietly as several others, including a veterans’ counselor, his ex-wife and his psychiatric nurse from Togus talked about his post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and mental health history.
Robert Daisey, who counseled him at least every other week until the shooting, said that Thompson was having a very hard time dealing with his mental troubles but that he seemed to be making progress a few weeks before the incident.
“He had gotten back together with his wife. He’d completely stopped drinking — or at least he was telling me that. He’d contacted the Wounded Warrior project and was going to go back to school,” Daisey said.
But things apparently had fallen apart for Thompson that night. The Marine wasn’t sleeping well and was suffering from anxiety and “hypervigilance,” a condition where he had a heightened startle response, Daisey said.
“He talked at times of very strong intrusive memories,” he said.
Andrew Wisch, a forensic psychologist who interviewed Thompson at length after the shooting to try to determine his mental state, said the Marine told him he had been driving around that night and texting his then-wife that he was going to go to her home and kill himself there.
Thompson faced up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 on the most serious charge.
After the jurors stepped forward one by one to say that they could not reach a unanimous decision on the charge of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon after several hours of deliberation, Murray told them they clearly had taken their role seriously.
“Obviously, you’ve spent a great deal of time on your deliberations,” he said before dismissing them.
The tentative sentencing date for the Class E convictions of possession of a loaded firearm and failing to stop for an officer and Class D conviction of operating under the influence has been set for 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, at Waldo County Superior Court. Class E crimes carry a penalty of as much as 180 days in prison and a fine of up to $1,000. Class D crimes carry a maximum penalty of up to a year in prison and as much as $2,000 in fines.
Apparently, both Private Benjamin AND his barber were in an abnormal state of mind.
Who’s Private Benjamin? Ohhhhh, you mean Private Thompson?
I’ve never read a lick of info about his rank.
Nothing abnormal about a mohawk, either, really.
You must live in a cave.
Sorry, I disagree with the juries findings. How can one be guilty of threatening display of a weapon but not Criminal Threatening with A Dangerous Weapon?
Maybe he didn’t point the weapon at the cop!
thank you!!! I was told that he had it above his head!!!!
Not true. In the video he is clearly seen exiting his vehicle and bringing the shotgun up to a point-shoulder firing position.
Unless you were on the jury, I doubt you’ve seen the video. Unless of course its on Youtube an I am not aware.
If they find him not guilty of threatening with a deadly weapon, they should then charge the cop with attempted murder for shooting him in the guts 5 times. But, of course they wont.
it was the bird in the sky
Just shows to go ya how fickle a jury can be!!!
I think he was found NOT GUILTY of that charge.
“. . .Thompson was not guilty of the charge of the threatening display of a weapon. . .”
He was found guilty of :
1.)having a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle,
2.)operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants
3.)and failure to stop.
The jury deadlocked on the criminal threatening charge, which can be unclear.
Well they have since updated the story as it first read, the story stated he was convicted on all the lesser counts. Now its saying he was not convicted of the threatening display of a weapon. They update the story but not the comments. Happens all the time.
….
You will be reading about him again in the future.
I truly hope we do read about him again, hopefully it will be in an article about the great things he did for our country. I find it pretty funny that everyone is so quick to want him to never be able to posses a firearm again but no one had a problem with him having a firearm and going to war for our country! I believe that Ben has suffered enough, him and his family have been through hell, its time to leave them alone and let him get on with his life!
When the perils of war impact you to the point that you are a threat to yourself and others it does not make any sense to reference his ability to have been able to do his duties prior to this instance. What is at stake here is his ability to get the help he needs to hopefully correct this disease and become a productive member of society and to be able to fully enjoy all of the rights that go with that. Those of us who have been exposed to the military are full aware of the hazzards that stem from war. Those same ablities that were required to carry out those duties need to be applied in the rehabilitation of this your man and i for one hope he gets what he needs to overcome this.
Such a difficult situation for all involved. Thank goodness nobody was killed.
Deadlocked in only 4 hours? Do juries have a time limit in Maine?
I’ve sat on 2 juries in Mass that weren’t as serious as the charges against him, and we took a lot longer than 4 hours to decide a verdict.
Based on his evaluations the judge should deny him the ability to have any weapons. He is clearly a threat to himself and others. he needs to get the proper care so that he can hopefully be cured of the pain that he is suffering.
I so agree with your eval….. I too pray for this young man; and commend the jury for reaching a difficult decision….He has suffered enough! I do hope he is ordered to attend a lengthily serious treatment, in the proper setting!!!
He is clearly a threat? He was drunk….. Deal with his drinking, PTSD, and he will be just like you and I. Take away his rights for life! I’d rather have this guy with a gun then some of these cops we have around.
Criminal threatening is about intent. This young man is seriously effed up through no fault of his own.
I have known a number of wounded warriors over the years, both friends and family, from all the wars since WWII. Most of them only did one tour of duty in a war zone and came home damaged beyond repair. I cannot even begin to understand what repeated deployments into combat, especially fighting against armed insurgents, could do to a person. It is shameful at the very least; not only the situation into which we throw our young men and women, but also the lack of care and concern when they return.
Now, back to intent. It seems pretty obvious to most, and apparently to a good portion of the jury, that because of this young man’s state of mind he was not capable of committing intent. And as the dash-cam conveniently did not show his physical actions at the time there is reasonable doubt. Juries are finally beginning to wake up to the fact that with corroborative evidence the word of a police officer is no more valuable than that of the regular guy on the street. (That is sad for the PD, but they have brought this upon themselves.)
BTW, the prosecutor’s statement about prohibiting Mr Thompson from owning a fire arm is a big fat red herring. He is mentally ill and behaved in an irrational manner which endangered the general public, by law he is already prohibited from owning a gun. The problem is that anyone can buy a gun; there are no background checks for private sales. But that’s another problem for another day.
Kudos jury. You had a difficult job. Let us hope that the state will be satisfied with this verdict and instead of continuing to throw good money after bad will instead concentrate on making sure our veterans receive the care and treatment they deserve when they arrive home.
why don’t you get him under the Lautenberg Act, Walker, I know you’re uneducated , but come on get creative. Get the weapons out of the hands of these violent offenders! (Sarcastic). What the heck, the guy that grabbed his wife’s arm can’t have firearms for life under the Amendement, even though it is a misdemeanor charge ! The Feds lump charges of any assault on a domestic partner, family member, or wife, whether, felony or misdemeanor as Lautenberg stamped and 2nd Amendement rights are erased, including the right to join the military. POint a gun at a cop and you go free! Way to go Walker, why don’t you move yourself to a third world country.