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Once at the top of the stairs, Sgt. Bailey noted the broken bedroom door and yelled Police! as
he crossed the threshold of the room. Mr. Arrigoni, who was standing next to the girlfriend at the
foot of the bed in the small bedroom, turned toward Sgt. Bailey and pointed a handgun later
determined to be a loaded .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol directly at Sgt. Bailey. Sgt. Bailey
fired two rounds from his .45 caliber service weapon at Mr. Arrigoni, who was struck by the
gunfire and fell to the floor. Mr. Arrigoni was transported to a Bangor hospital where he was
pronounced dead.
A later postmortem examination and autopsy performed by the Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner in Augusta determined that Mr. Arrigoni died as a result of gunshot wounds to the head
and upper torso. It was also determined that his blood-alcohol content at the time of his death
was 0.183%, and that there was a moderate level of THC (active ingredient of marijuana) in his
system.
Detectives from the Office of the Attorney General went to the scene in Hampden to conduct an
investigation. They were assisted by several members of the State Police, including evidence
technicians and detectives.
Analysis and Conclusion The Attorney General is charged by law with investigating any law
enforcement officer who uses deadly force while acting in the performance of the officer's duties.
The sole purpose of the Attorney Generals investigation in this matter was to determine whether
self-defense or the defense of others, as defined by law, was reasonably generated by the facts so
as to preclude criminal prosecution. The review did not include an analysis of potential civil
liability, whether any administrative action is warranted, or whether the use of deadly force could
have been averted. Under Maine law, for any person, including a law enforcement officer, to be
justified in using deadly force in self-defense or the defense of others, two requirements must be
met. First, the person must actually and reasonably believe that deadly force is imminently
threatened against the person or someone else, and, second, the person must actually and
reasonably believe that deadly force is necessary to counter that imminent threat.
Whether a use of force is reasonable is based on the totality of the particular circumstances, and
must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, allowing for the fact
that police officers are often forced to make split-second decisions about the amount of force
necessary in a particular situation. The analysis requires careful attention to the facts and
circumstances of a particular case, including the severity of the crime at issue, whether the
suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of officers or others, and whether the suspect is
actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.
Attorney General Janet T. Mills has concluded that at the time Sgt. Bailey fired his weapon at
Mr. Arrigoni, Sgt. Bailey actually and reasonably believed that deadly force was imminently
threatened against him, and that it was reasonable for Sgt. Bailey to believe it necessary to use
deadly force to protect himself from the imminent threat of deadly force by Mr. Arrigoni.