The Maine attorney general’s office has found police officers were justified in their use of deadly force when they shot and killed a man in Hartford in March 2025.
The incident unfolded when Oxford County sheriff’s deputies responded to reports that 52-year-old Eric Newell had assaulted his stepfather at their family home.
According to the AG’s report, Newell emerged from the house with a knife, threatening to harm himself and saying he didn’t care if officers shot him.
Efforts to restrain Newell with a stun gun were unsuccessful, and officers shot and killed him when he ran at one of them with a knife, according to the report.
The attorney general’s office concluded the deputies acted in self-defense.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.