Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey on Friday found that a York County deputy was justified when he shot and injured a York man on Nov. 8, 2023.
Deputy Alexander Markellos was a member of the Southern Maine Special Response Team, York County’s regional tactical team at the time of the incident. On Nov. 7, 2023, a sergeant from the Eliot Police Department requested help from the team to arrest Nicholas Goodwin, who was accused of domestic violence terrorizing with a firearm and violating conditions of release, according to a narrative in the attorney general’s report.
The tactical team was called because Goodwin was known to carry a pistol and owned a body armor plate carrier similar to those used by tactical teams, per the report.
Goodwin had been sending threatening text messages to his former girlfriend who was the mother of one of his children, according to the report. In the messages, he allegedly threatened to shoot her and the police.
On the morning of Nov. 8, police learned that Goodwin was on Mill Lane in York. There, they saw a man they believed to be him and approached from behind in their vehicles, using a public address system to call to him. According to the report, the officers were in unmarked vehicles but repeatedly identified themselves as police.
A York police officer who was in the same vehicle as Deputy Markellos threw a “flash bang” distraction device in a ditch beside the road as Markellos and other uniformed members of the tactical team got out of their vehicles and approached Goodwin. According to the report, Markellos yelled at Goodwin, “Police, get on the ground.”
Goodwin looked over one shoulder while reaching into the rear of his waistband on the other side, revealing a magazine pouch, according to the report, and Markellos saw what appeared to be a large black handgun in Goodwin’s hand.
Markellos shot his rifle in the direction of Goodwin. The report says Goodwin sustained multiple gunshot wounds but does not indicate if other officers were involved.
“As officers were placing Mr. Goodwin in handcuffs, he was heard to say ‘I dropped it,’” the report says, adding that police recovered a 9mm handgun with the serial number scratched off.
“When Deputy Markellos shot Mr. Goodwin, he reasonably believed that Mr. Goodwin was posing an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death to himself and other officers,” Frey wrote, adding that the officers had clearly identified themselves and told Goodwin not to move.
“Mr. Goodwin refused to comply. Instead, he pulled out a firearm and appeared ready to shoot,” Frey said. “… All the facts and circumstances point to the conclusion that Deputy Markellos reasonably believed he was acting in the defense of himself and others at the time he used deadly force.”
In January, Deputy Markellos shot another man in Naples after the man allegedly fired shots at police during a standoff. The man, 36-year-old Eric Sweda, was wounded but survived.
The Maine AG’s office has never ruled against a police officer who has used deadly force. Several cases have been challenged in civil suits, including the death of 18-year-old Gregori Jackson, who was shot five times by Waldoboro police officer Zachary Curtis in 2007, and 18-year-old Ambroshia “Amber” Fagre, who was shot by Maine State Police Trooper Jeffrey Parks in 2017.
