A Windham police officer, known for his work in the local schools, is doing “exceptionally well” after accidentally shooting himself in the leg last weekend.

While staying at his family’s camp in a township just north of Millinocket, Windham police officer Matthew Cyr accidentally shot himself in his upper thigh while asleep Friday night.

According to Maine State Police, Cyr was sleeping in a pop-up tent with his 17-year-old nephew during a family get-together at the camp on the shores of Millinocket Lake.

At around 11 p.m. Friday, police say Cyr’s personal weapon, a Glock 357 Magnum, discharged a bullet into Cyr’s right upper leg, rupturing a femoral vein. The weapon was similar to his police issue Sig-Sauer 357.

The bleeding was extensive and members of Cyr’s family, more than a dozen of whom were at the camp for the weekend, took Cyr by boat about five miles to a main road where an ambulance met Cyr and transported him to Eastern Maine Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition.

Cyr is Windham’s community services officer and oversees the DARE drug prevention program for Windham elementary schools and middle school. He is also the Windham police department’s liaison to local businesses, conducting presentations on such matters as check writing fraud and other crime relevant to the business community.

State police have already conducted interviews with each person staying at the camp that night. Steve McCausland, spokesman for the State Police, said the shooting is not suspicious.

“We’re in the process of running a ballistics test, and that will help us figure out what happened,” McCausland said. “We are treating the incident as an accidental shooting. There is nothing to lead us to believe it is anything more than an accident.”

Windham Lt. David DeGruchy, who’s worked with the 33-year-old Cyr since Cyr was hired by the department in 1995, said the gun fired when Cyr rolled over onto it while sleeping.

“We’re not exactly sure what happened, but apparently Matt rolled over and the gun somehow went off. There might be a lesson in gun safety here, but it was an accident. There is no crime here,” DeGruchy said.

Cyr underwent emergency surgery early Saturday morning to reconnect Cyr’s femoral vein which, when ruptured, was sucked up into his leg. As of Wednesday, Aug. 9, Cyr was “doing exceptionally well,” DeGruchy reported. “He’s anticipating walking out of the hospital within two weeks, and I emphasize, ‘walking.'”

While relieved now that Cyr is doing well, it was a different story on Saturday when local police were in shock at the news. They were worried for Cyr’s life, due to the nature of his injury.

“The call came to me at around 3 o’clock Saturday morning. Obviously, it’s a call no one wants, to hear about one of their friends and coworkers experiencing something like this,” said DeGruchy.

DeGruchy said Chief Rick Lewsen was at his camp in the Moosehead area during the weekend and went to the hospital to meet with Cyr’s family. Other Windham police department staff carpooled to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor this week to wish Cyr well.

DeGruchy talked to Cyr on Monday morning and reports that Cyr “sounded like his old self.”

“His attitude was positive,” DeGruchy said. “There are still some medical issues. There are still some injuries and wounds that still need to be attended to. But it’s quite a turnaround. It’s gone from something that could have been a tragedy to something he’s able to walk away from.”

Matthew Cyr