Image taken from dashcam video.
Video footage released by the Maine Attorney General’s Office reveals more detail about the Feb. 28 confrontation that led a Topsham police officer to fatally shoot a Brunswick woman.
Kourtney Sherwood, 37, died at Maine Medical Center in Portland on March 1, one day after being shot on the state Route 196 bridge.
The 2-minute, 20-second video, originating from the dashcam of a Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office cruiser, shows a white pickup truck parked on the shoulder of the road, which had been blocked by police cruisers.
An officer is heard saying: “We don’t want this to end badly. We want to help you, get you the help you need. We want you to go back to your partner, she’s very concerned. … We’re concerned for you. … We’re trying to get you some help, Kourtney.”
According to Nicole Sacre, executive assistant for the Attorney General’s Office, the officer heard speaking in the audio is Sagadahoc Deputy Sheriff Steven Thibeault.
Thibeault asks the truck’s driver to lower the window to show they are unarmed.
Shortly after, the truck’s driver’s side window is lowered slightly and a hand emerges holding an object, however, the Attorney General’s Office has not confirmed whether that object was a firearm.
A loud bang is heard, which Sacre said was the shot fired by Topsham Police Officer Mathew Bowers.
In a statement on Tuesday, Topsham police said Bowers “discharged a single round during the encounter.”
After the gunshot, radio chatter and an officer can be heard saying “shots fired, shots fired.”
The video cuts off shortly thereafter, and no other footage has been made public. The Attorney General’s Office cited a state statute that allows evidence to be withheld from the public if such a disclosure would hinder or prejudice a police investigation or court proceeding.
No officer is seen approaching the vehicle within the span of the video. The truck’s occupant is not audible during the exchange.
Bowers, who fired a single shot that struck Sherwood, has been placed on leave pending separate investigations by Topsham police and the Attorney General’s Office — standard procedure when deadly force is used.
A criminal background check shows Sherwood had an arrest record that included charges of assault on an officer, driving with a revoked license and criminal mischief. The background check indicates that Sherwood was barred from possessing a firearm.
BEFORE THE SHOOTING
Prior to the shooting, Sherwood had called her wife, Stacy Beverage, and said she had been pulled over by the Maine State Police after running a red light near the Route 196 bridge, Beverage told The Times Record on March 3.
Sherwood then asked Beverage to get the vehicle because she expected she would be arrested. Instead, Beverage said, Sherwood was issued two summonses by the trooper, who then left. At that point, Beverage said that Sherwood began making suicidal statements over the phone, and Beverage contacted the Topsham police.
Sherwood had grappled with lifelong mental health challenges, according to Beverage. She had bipolar disorder, Beverage said, a mental disorder that impacts approximately 2.3 million Americans today, according to the Mental Illness Policy Organization.
Reached by phone on Friday, Beverage said that the video “has actually led to more questions than answers.” She said she first saw the clip after it was sent to her from another local media outlet and the Attorney General’s Office has not contacted her.
Beverage said she and the family will be speaking with a lawyer later on Friday, and again Monday wouldn’t speak further until after talking with legal counsel.
If you are concerned about yourself or about somebody else, call the Maine Crisis Hotline at 1-888-568-1112. If you are not in Maine, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact a crisis counselor at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
