Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine — Two police officers were legally justified when they fatally shot a 26-year-old Sudanese immigrant in an incident that sparked anger and unrest in the Sudanese community in Maine’s largest city, the state’s top prosecutor ruled Friday.
Portland Officers Benjamin Roper and Joshua Wiseman acted in self-defense when they shot David Okot after he pulled a handgun from the waistband of his pants April 25, Attorney General Janet Mills said.
Police were responding that night to a report of an intoxicated man showing off a weapon when officers encountered Okot, who initially tried to flee into an apartment building.
Locked out of the building, Okot responded to the officers’ orders with expletives and was shot after he pulled a .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol and pointed it at Wiseman, Mills said. Toxicology tests later determined Okot had a blood-alcohol content of 0.26 percent and cocaine in his bloodstream, Mills said.
Okot’s family couldn’t be reached immediately for comment Friday; a listed telephone number could not be found for his father.
The shooting caused hard feelings within Portland’s Sudanese community and led to a policy of officers being sent in pairs to certain neighborhoods.
Police Chief James Craig said the shooting had “heartbreaking consequences” for Okot and his family, but that Mills’ report confirmed his initial impression that his officers’ actions were justified.