NEWPORT — A video provided by state prosecutors of a deadly shooting last Friday at a Newport campground appears to show a man holding a handgun and arguing with officers — questioning whether they are “actual” members of law enforcement — moments before he raises the gun toward them and is shot.
Released on Thursday by the Office of the Maine Attorney General, the video was recorded by a person a good distance behind the armed man, whom officials have identified as Stephen Bossom, 35.
Bossom can be seen in the 45-second video arguing with officers, who are obscured by a motor home near which Bossom was standing at Sebasticook Lake Campground.
In the video, the person recording the confrontation said there were two officers with their guns drawn on the other side of the motor home. An animated Bossom held a handgun in his right hand and gestured with his arms as he argued with officers and said he did not believe they were real members of law enforcement.
Warning: This video, provided by the Office of the Maine Attorney General, contains strong language and gun violence. It might be disturbing to some viewers.
“You have far better protocol if you’re real sheriffs,” Bossom can be heard saying. “Stop! I’m the one who’s acting crazy. But if you shoot me, everyone else will know. So we are waiting for the actual cops to arrive.”
A second, muffled voice, apparently that of an officer on the other side of the motor home, can be heard speaking with Bossom.
Seconds later, Bossom said, “If you want to shoot me, shoot me.”
He then raised his handgun toward the officers as a long gun is seen pointing out from behind the motor home and being aimed at Bossom. The long gun fires a shot before the video ends abruptly.
The recording appears to show Bossom arguing there was an active shooter at the campground and doubting the officers were real because an emergency call about an active shooter would have generated a much larger response.
Deputy Kenneth York of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office was among those who responded to the call. He was later identified as the one who shot Bossom.
York has been placed on administrative leave and the matter is under investigation by the Office of the Maine Attorney General, which is customary when an officer uses deadly force.
A spokesperson for the state Office of Chief Medical Examiner said an autopsy has been completed, but the results would not be released until the office had notified Bossom’s family.
An owner of the campground, Sharon Sheehan, said last week that Bossom and his wife, Abbie, had been working part time at the campground and staying there for a couple of months. She said Bossom told her to call 911 because of a social media post about an armed man at the campground.
Attempts to reach Sheehan this week for additional details were unsuccessful.
The Bossoms had recently celebrated their daughter’s eighth birthday and were traveling the country in their vintage Airstream camper, according to Abbie Bossom’s Instagram page. The family lived in Colorado.
A post to the account shared the news of Stephen Bossom’s death, and said: “He was our whole world and the rock of our family. We absolutely adored him and he gave his entire life and heart and days to loving and nurturing and caring for us.”
A memorial service for Bossom has been set for Saturday in Virginia, according to a post on Abbie Bossom’s Facebook page.
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