Franklin County deputy shoots man after repeatedly asking him to drop gun and get help

PHILLIPS. A Franklin County deputy tried to get a man with a gun on a bridge to drop his weapon and get help, but he refused Tuesday, and the man allegedly pointed a gun at the deputy and the deputy shot him, according to a news release from Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr.

Lawrence Scott, 61, died of his injuries.

At approximately 5:47 p.m., the Franklin County Regional Communications Center received a call
from a person who reported that there was a male subject who may have been suicidal and may have been present
the presence of BB weapons.

A second caller reported a man with a gun in the Town of Phillips on the Salem Township side. Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Jesse Clement responded to the scene and located the man, later identified as Scott.

“Deputy Jesse Clement tried to talk Mr. Scott into getting help, but he refused,” Nichols wrote. “Deputy Clement repeatedly told Mr. Scott to drop the weapon, but he refused. Mr. Scott then raised his gun in the direction of Deputy Clement and was
shot by a deputy”.

MaineHealth EMS was called to the scene, but Mr. Scott did not survive, Nichols wrote.

Deputy Clement will be placed on administrative leave, as is standard protocol throughout the police force
participation in filming.

The attorney general’s office will investigate the use of deadly force. Further inquiries should be directed to the General Prosecutor’s Office. When an officer uses deadly force, the Attorney General’s Office responds and investigates the officer’s use of deadly force, Nichols wrote.

Clement, who has more than 10 years of law enforcement experience, earned a degree in criminal justice from the University of Maine-Augusta. He began his career as a correctional officer at the Kennebec County Correctional Facility in Augusta.

Clement worked for the Carrabassett Valley Police Department for two years before joining the Farmington Police Department in 2016, where he was promoted to sergeant in 2021.

He became a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy in March.