Westbrook police fatally shot a man who allegedly resisted arrest and threatened officers early Saturday morning.
At about 3:25 a.m., police went to a residence on Arlington Avenue after receiving a call that a woman’s son was hurting her and she was scared, according to Westbrook Police Chief Sean Lally.
At the residence, police found Ryan Nichols, 34, of Westbrook, who had an active felony warrant for assault.
When officers tried to arrest Nichols, he fled to a neighbors house, where he again resisted arrest, Lally said. Officers used less-lethal weapons (a term that typically refers to a Taser or pepper spray) on Nichols but were unable to subdue him.
Lally said Nichols approached officers with a metal object and ignored commands to surrender, at which point the two officers, Sgt. Brian Grasser and Officer Maxwell Sawyer, shot Nichols.
Nichols was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Maine attorney general’s office is investigating the incident as it does with all officer-involved shootings.
Both officers have been placed on administrative leave per Westbrook Police Department protocol, Lally said.
