Two Westbrook men are facing charges of attempted murder and robbery in connection with an incident that left a Waldoboro police officer in the hospital Tuesday.
Michael Kelley, 30, and Stephen Otis, 25, both of Westbrook, have been both been charged with robbery and aggravated attempted murder.
Waldoboro Officer Jeff Fuller was one of two police officers injured while trying to apprehend Kelley and Fuller who were in a silver Dodge pickup truck seen speeding out of the area after an armed man robbed the Gardiner Savings Bank in Newcastle Tuesday around 10 a.m. The other injured officer was Lincoln County Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Kenneth Hatch.
Sheriff Todd Brackett said the robbery was reported at 10:10 a.m. and Hatch met a truck matching the description of the one seen near the bank. Hatch attempted to stop the truck’s driver and a high-speed chase ensued north through several Lincoln County towns.
When police checked the pickup truck’s registration through computer files, they learned the truck had been reported stolen out of Portland on Jan. 5.
Fuller and Hatch were injured after they blocked the truck and then attempted to get the men out of the truck and take them into custody.
An eyewitness at the scene said the suspects’ pickup truck rammed the officers’ cruisers and struck one of the two officers as they stood outside their vehicles with their guns drawn.
“The Waldoboro police officer was outside his car when he was hit by the pickup truck,” said eyewitness Ginny Taylor. Taylor lives across the street from where Hatch and Fuller managed to corner the pickup truck.
Taylor said she saw the cruisers and the pickup truck stopped on Route 32. She said the cruisers were blocking the truck and the two officers were standing next to their cars with their guns drawn when the pickup truck rammed into the Waldoboro cruiser and then hit Fuller, sending him flying into the air. The truck also struck Hatch’s unmarked police car.
Taylor said she did not know if any shots were fired because of the noise and commotion.
“After hitting the officer, the truck just peeled out,” Taylor said.
Lt. Rand Maker of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, said that at least one round from an officer’s weapon was fired at the pickup truck and its occupants during the confrontation involving Fuller and Hatch.
After striking the two police vehicles, the pickup truck and its occupants continued north on Route 32 in Jefferson and allegedly attempted to strike at least one more police vehicle that was in pursuit.
The chase ended when the pickup truck reportedly crossed a police spike mat and crashed near the intersection of routes 213 and 215 in Newcastle, where it struck a tree, rolled down an embankment and came to rest on its side.
Both suspects were apprehended following a brief foot chase into nearby woods. Kelley and Otis were taken to Miles Memorial Hospital where they were treated for injuries they received when their vehicle overturned.
Sheriff Brackett said that Fuller and Hatch were taken to Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta with non-critical injuries. Brackett said that Hatch was treated and released but that Fuller was later transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Maker said that Fuller was listed in stable condition with multiple injuries.
Maker also said that while the sheriff’s office is conducting its own internal investigation into the use of deadly force, the Maine Attorney General’s Office has been requested to investigate, as required by state statute.
Brackett said that four police vehicles were damaged as a result of the chase, as were two bystanders’ vehicles. Brackett added that no bystanders were injured during the incident.
The Maine State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office are assisting the sheriff’s office in the investigation.
Story courtesy of Village Soup.com
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