SKOWHEGAN — A 28-year-old man who was shot and wounded by a state police tactical team member Monday night is “a fine young man,” his next-door neighbor said Tuesday.

Ron Voisine of Middle Road said Kemp Lybrook, who authorities said was despondent and armed when he confronted state police near his home just after 6 p.m., is “quiet, a good neighbor, friendly.” Voisine said Lybrook lives alone and keeps to himself.

Nicole Sacre, spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office, said Lybrook had an assault rifle in a wooded area behind his home when he was shot as he approached Trooper Mark Sperrey, a member of the state police tactical team, and a second trooper.

Lybrook was taken to a hospital and had surgery for a single gunshot wound, according to Sacre. The incident is being investigated by the Attorney General’s Office.

The tactical team was outside Lybrook’s home for several hours after a request for assistance by Skowhegan police, according to Sacre. Skowhegan officers had visited the home earlier that day, after receiving a report that a man with a gun was behaving in a threatening manner, she said.

Middle Road was closed for several hours to all but police and emergency traffic.

Advertisement

Lybrook’s small, log home, which has a large porch and is surrounded by trees, is more than 100 feet from the road.

Voisine said Lybrook “never caused me any trouble at all good kid, good young fella.”

Voisine, 57, said he went out about 5 p.m. Monday and saw a couple of Skowhegan police cruisers in Lybrook’s yard. He said he thought police had stopped a speeding car.

Sacre said in a news release Tuesday that the attorney general must investigate the use of deadly force on duty by any law enforcement officer.

“The sole purpose of the attorney general’s investigation is to determine whether self-defense or the defense of others, as defined in law, is reasonably generated on the facts so as to preclude criminal prosecution,” Sacre said.

The review doesn’t include whether there could be civil liability, whether administrative action is warranted or whether the use of deadly force could have been avoided, she added.

This is the fourth police-involved shooting in Maine this year, Sacre said.

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.