PORTLAND — A Bangor man is still in critical condition after being shot by a Portland police officer while using the car he was driving as a weapon against officers, police said today.

Portland Police Chief James Craig said Jonathan Mitchell, 29, had driven a Volkswagen Jetta down a dead end street in an effort to escape police before dawn Sunday morning. Officers Robert Miller and David Schertz cornered Mitchell at the end of Fairfield Street then approached him on foot. “We believe Mitchell used his vehicle as a dangerous weapon in an attempt to escape,” Craig said.

Miller fired two shots, hitting Mitchell in the neck and shoulder, Craig said. He would not say whether Mitchell drove at the officers, provoking the use of deadly force, or if they had reached into the vehicle and then he accelerated. Neither of the officers were injured.

Mitchell drove off but police found him 90 minutes later, at 6:20 a.m., at an apartment on Washington Avenue.

Police started chasing Mitchell after his estranged wife called 911 to report that Mitchell had broken into her Allen Avenue apartment while she slept and then wouldn’t leave, Craig said. While she was reporting the incident, he left.

Mitchell has a lengthy criminal record that includes a conviction for aggravated assault, for which he is on probation, Craig said.

Mitchell now faces charges of criminal trespass, driving after his license was revoked for being a habitual offender, eluding an officer, violating probation and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, Craig said.

Mitchell has not been formally charged because he remains at Maine Medical Center, he said.

Investigations into the shooting are under way by the Maine Attorney General’s Office, which investigates all uses of deadly force by police officers, and the department’s internal affairs unit as well as the criminal investigations division.

Miller is on administrative leave with pay because of the ongoing investigation. Craig said he is doing well.

 

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