Raynham police shoot and kill 35-year-old man

Local News

Stephen Maclean died shortly after arriving at a local hospital. He was arrested Monday on two charges, including witness intimidation.

Raynham police shot and killed a 35-year-old man Tuesday afternoon in his apartment after he pointed a loaded handgun at officers, Bristol County Prosecutor Thomas Quinn said.

Quinn told a news conference that Stephen Maclean was in the doorway of his King Philip Street apartment when he allegedly pointed a firearm with a 21-round magazine at officers. The prosecutor said one officer fired a Taser and two officers fired their weapons at Maclean.

Maclean died shortly after arriving at a local hospital, Quinn said.

The responding officers had their body cameras on and were recording, said Quinn, who provided footage that “briefly” shows Maclean pointing a gun at the officers.

“It happened very, very quickly,” Quinn said. “We just watched the footage, so it appears that an officer fired a Taser to try to disarm him, but all of a sudden a gun is pointed at them, and they responded in defense of their lives.”

Quinn said officers went to Maclean’s apartment Tuesday after his girlfriend called him to report he was acting erratically and aggressively. She also told police that Maclean had been fired from his job after he went to work drunk that morning.

“This just happened several hours ago,” Quinn said. “We want to do a thorough review of these cases, but this is an individual who, without any justification based on what we know at this point, opened the door and pointed a firearm at four agents doing their job legally. »

Raynham Police Chief David LaPlante said at the news conference that there was no danger to the public.

“It’s not a day any officer hopes will happen,” LaPlante said. “This was a very dangerous incident where our officers had a firearm pointed at them by an armed individual. Our officers responded in accordance with their training and provided emergency medical aid to the suspect until paramedics arrived.

Maclean, who Quinn described as exhibiting “belligerent behavior” leading to his death, was arrested Monday on charges of witness intimidation and disorderly conduct related to a court case in which his girlfriend is the defendant.

Maclean’s girlfriend, Alison O’Leary, allegedly tried to hit her neighbors with her car last summer during an argument, and a trial was held on Monday. According to court documents, Maclean was arrested after going to his neighbor’s apartment, drunk and banging on doors, apparently in an attempt to fight.

Police went to Maclean’s apartment Monday, where he initially resisted arrest but was arrested without incident, according to court records. Maclean pleaded not guilty to both charges and the court released him on personal recognizance.

Quinn said the investigation by state police detectives and prosecutors is ongoing.