Lewiston police continue to work on an internal investigation.
LEWISTON – Vince Berube, shot by police last month, has been released from a Lewiston hospital and moved to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn.
The 40-year-old Norway man was indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on charges of criminal threatening and criminal mischief.
Recovering from at least a half dozen gunshot wounds, Berube will be arraigned on the charges Thursday in Superior Court.
Berube was shot the night of Dec. 17 after he allegedly threatened an officer with a hammer in the police parking yard.
Three cops opened fire when Berube refused to back away from the officer, police said. Berube remained at Central Maine Medical Center until this week when he was medically cleared to be moved to the jail.
Investigators said Berube had slashed and cut himself numerous times before driving into the police compound where he began pounding on cruisers with a hammer.
Police Officer Carly Conley confronted Berube in the police yard and fired her gun when he came at her with the hammer, investigators said. Two officers rushing from the police station also fired until Berube went down.
Lewiston police are conducting an internal investigation while the Attorney General’s Office reviews the case.
The three officers involved in the shooting have remained on duty although they have not returned to patrol while the case is being investigated. That may change soon as the A.G.’s office gets closer to releasing its findings and Lewiston police complete their report.
“We haven’t had access to some of the medical reports in order to finalize our investigation,” said police Chief William Welch. “We may let the officers return to active duty before the AG’s report is released. They signed up to be patrol officers and they want to be back to work.”
The chief has defended the actions of his officers since he began investigating the shooting. He said the three officers – Conley, Eric Syphers and Matt Vierling – could return to street patrol as early as next week.
The A.G.’s office, which investigates all police shootings in the state, is expected to release its findings by the end of the month.
An attempt to have Berube arraigned in mid-December failed when physicians decided he was not healthy enough to endure the proceedings from his hospital bed.
Comments are no longer available on this story