PORTLAND (AP) – A part-time Waldoboro police officer who shot and killed a Whitefield teenager over the weekend was working full-time because the town had three unfilled police positions.

The Maine Criminal Justice Center in June approved a request from the town to allow 24-year-old Zachary Curtis and another part-time officer to work more hours than state law allows for officers who have undergone abbreviated training. The extension expires at month’s end.

Waldoboro has a six-person police department, but had asked for exemptions for two part-timers because there were three vacancies, said John Rogers, director of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. The town’s police chief resigned unexpectedly in May, one officer was out on extended leave from injuries sustained on duty, and another officer quit while in training at the Criminal Justice Academy.

Because of the circumstances, Rogers approved a request to extend the hours that Curtis and the other part-time officer could work.

“Sometimes police chiefs and sheriffs don’t have any other choice,” Rogers said.

Curtis shot Gregori Jackson, 18, following a traffic stop in Waldoboro at about 2:15 a.m. Sunday. Police say Jackson got out of the car and confronted Curtis physically before running into the woods off Route 220. Curtis chased him, they struggled and the officer shot Jackson multiple times in the chest and head.

Curtis is on administrative leave during the investigation, which is expected to take weeks.

Curtis graduated from the 100-hour Law Enforcement Pre-service training course at the Criminal Justice Academy in 2005. He then worked a short stint at the Maine Sate prison before being hired in February 2006 as a part-time officer in Waldoboro.

Under state law, officers who undergo the 100-hour course can work only 1,040 hours a year, giving them part-time status; to work full-time, officers must complete an 18-week course.

Paul Gaspar, executive director of the Maine Association of Police, said just because Curtis was granted an exemption to work more hours does not mean he is at fault. He cautioned people not to make judgments before the facts are known.

“We understand that it is obviously a very emotionally charged situation,” said Gaspar. “But I would hope that people would keep to the standard that people are innocent until proven otherwise.”

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