Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey determined on Monday that a Topsham police officer acted in justifiable self-defense during a January shooting after firing on a man approaching them with a machete.
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The machete-wielding suspect, Joseph Mendez, then 33, of Topsham, survived the shooting and was arrested on charges of refusing to submit to arrest and criminal threatening with a deadly weapon.
According to Frey’s office, the shooting took place on January 21 after Topsham officers Matthew Bowers and Frasier Vachon responded to a suspected suicidal man on the Merrymeeting Bridge.
Officers found Mendez standing on the railing of the bridge, and Bowers ordered him to step off the railing and away from the bridge’s edge.
As Bowers exited his cruiser, he reportedly noticed that Mendez was armed with a machete, which he reportedly refused to drop.
Mendez then reportedly shouted something about the FBI and mafia before charging toward Bowers with the weapon, prompting Bowers to shoot Mendez once.
While Mendez charged at Bowers, Vachon fired at him three times, causing the suspect to drop to the ground.
Despite his gunshot wounds, Mendez allegedly continued to approach Bowers, refusing to drop his weapon and crawling on his knees.
Vachon and Bowers both deployed their tasers, but they seemingly had no effect, and Mendez reportedly continued to approach.
Brunswick Police Officer Owen Beattie arrived and used his taser on Mendez twice, causing him to drop his machete but failing to stop his approach.
Two more Brunswick officers also tased Mendez, eventually causing him to fall onto his stomach and allowing him to be restrained.
Mendez was transported to the hospital with three gunshot wounds and an allegedly self-inflicted laceration on his neck.
The Attorney General’s office determined, after reviewing the evidence, including body camera footage, that officers reasonably believed Mendez was going to murder or seriously injure Bowers if they did not use deadly force against him.
Mendez has reportedly apologized for the incident since then.
