A rural domestic dispute call on Porter Road in Brownfield ended with an Oxford County sheriff's deputy firing two shots that struck a 40-year-old local man in the hands, after the man reportedly aimed a gun in the direction of law enforcement. Aric Junkins was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to Bridgton Hospital, then later transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for further treatment of his injuries.
The shooting is now under investigation, according to NBC Boston, whose reporting forms the basis of most details in this account. Authorities said the Oxford County Sheriff's Office, Maine State Police, Fryeburg Police Department, and Maine Warden Service all responded to the address on Porter Road for a report of a domestic dispute. Reports said Junkins had reportedly been chasing a woman around with a gun before deputies arrived.
Deputy Fired Twice After Gun Was Allegedly Pointed At Officers
Oxford County Deputy Andre Chasse fired two shots at Junkins after Junkins reportedly aimed the weapon in the direction of law enforcement on scene. The shots hit Junkins in the hands. As is standard practice whenever a law enforcement officer is involved in the use of deadly force, Chasse has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is reviewed.
That review falls to the state rather than the local sheriff's office. Under Maine law, the Maine Office of the Attorney General holds exclusive statutory authority to independently investigate any law enforcement use of deadly force, according to the Bangor Daily News. The Attorney General's Office will investigate the shooting, and officers involved in such incidents are automatically placed on leave during that process. Notably, since the Attorney General's Office took over this evaluation role, The Wash has reported that the state has historically found every reviewed officer-involved shooting to be legally justified, with the review centered on whether the officer faced a reasonable perception of imminent deadly force.
Multiple Felony Counts Await Brownfield Man
Junkins is expected to face a string of charges tied to the encounter: domestic violence, domestic violence terrorizing, terrorizing, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, and two counts of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon. Several of those, including Criminal Threatening with a Dangerous Weapon and Domestic Violence Reckless Conduct with a Dangerous Weapon, are Class C felonies in Maine, carrying a statutory maximum of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, per the Bangor Daily News' 2015 reporting on the felony classification.
The scale of the law enforcement response reflects the realities of policing sprawling, sparsely staffed stretches of rural Maine. Brownfield is a small town in western Oxford County bordering New Hampshire, with a 2020 population of just 1,631 residents spread across roughly 45 square miles in the Saco River valley, according to Census Reporter. That kind of geography helps explain why four separate agencies — county, state, local, and warden service — converged on a single Porter Road address for one call, a coordination pattern the Sun Journal has also documented in its own account of the incident.
From Bridgton to Boston for Specialized Care
Junkins' path through the medical system also underscores the limits of rural emergency care. Bridgton Hospital, where he was initially treated, is a 25-bed critical access hospital in neighboring Cumberland County that serves Maine's Lakes Region, according to Central Maine Healthcare. His transfer to Massachusetts General Hospital suggests his hand injuries required more specialized trauma care than the smaller facility could provide, though his current medical status has not been detailed.
This is not the first time Deputy Chasse has been at the center of a dangerous call. In November 2024, News Center Maine reported that Chasse was dragged alongside a moving vehicle by a fleeing suspect during an arrest attempt in West Paris, falling off and narrowly avoiding being run over before he was treated at Stephens Memorial Hospital for face and head abrasions. Years earlier, in March 2021, Chasse was publicly commended alongside a civilian for pulling a trapped driver from a burning car while he was still an officer with the Mechanic Falls Police Department. In May 2024, the Oxford County Sheriff's Office noted that Chasse represented the agency at the annual Maine Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony in Augusta.
Several questions remain open as the case moves forward, including the outcome of Junkins' treatment in Boston and whether the Attorney General's Office's review of the shooting will produce any additional findings beyond its standard justification determination. Anyone affected by domestic violence in Maine can reach the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence's 24-hour confidential helpline at 1-866-834-4357.
