PORTLAND — Police Monday afternoon identified a 26-year-old city resident as the man officers shot and killed Saturday night.

David Okot, a Sudanese immigrant who has lived in Portland for at least a decade, was killed on Weymouth Street in the Parkside neighborhood Saturday at 7:35 p.m. Acting Police Chief Joe Loughlin said officers fired at Okot after the man “pulled a gun on them.”

Immediately following the shooting, responding officers moved Okot off the porch because they believed there was another person in the apartment building who was dangerous. Okot was given medical treatment “very quickly” said Loughlin, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police were called to the neighborhood in response to a call to dispatch reporting a man who “appeared intoxicated and had a handgun in the waistband of his pants.” Loughlin said the caller also reported that the man was displaying the gun to people in the street.

A man following the caller’s description was found on the Weymouth Street porch by responding officers.

The two officers involved in the shooting are Benjamin Roper and Joshua Wiseman. Both have been put on administrative leave pending investigation by the Maine Attorney General and an internal investigation by the Portland Police Department.  Putting officers on leave is common practice following an officer-involved shooting. 

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Loughlin said Okot had an extensive arrest record since turning 18 years old in 2000. He had been convicted on theft, criminal mischief, violation of conditions of release and threatening display of a weapon.

 

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p-okot-cropped.jpgDavid Okot, 26, was shot and killed by Portland police on Weymouth Street Saturday night. Police said they had numerous run-ins with Okot, who had previously been convicted of theft, criminal mischief, violation of conditions of release and threatening display of a weapon.
(Photo courtesy of Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department)


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