July 6, 2026
Sheriff Eric Samson
Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department
2 Turner Street
Auburn, ME 04210
Dear Sheriff Samson:
This office has completed its investigation and legal review of an incident involving the use of deadly force by Deputy Kurt Fegan on October 10, 2025, in Turner, which resulted in a non-fatal injury to Christopher LeBrun, age 51.
Factual Summary
On October 10, 2025, at approximately 7:22 pm, Androscoggin County Dispatch advised Deputy Kurt Fegan of three outstanding, arrest warrants for Christopher LeBrun (two felony counts of Possession of Sexually Explicit Material of a Minor Under 12 and one misdemeanor count of Possession of Sexually Explicit Material). Deputy Fegan went to 253 General Turner Hill Road where he spoke with Mr. LeBrun’s father who confirmed he and Mr. LeBrun were expecting the warrants. The father told Deputy Fegan Mr. LeBrun was at his girlfriend’s house.
Shortly after 9:00 p.m., Deputy Fegan located Mr. LeBrun’s truck, a white Chevy pickup, at 544 Plains Road in Turner; however, no one responded to knocking on the door, announcements Deputy Fegan made over his PA system, or the activation of lights and sirens. Deputy Fegan left and parked nearby where he could watch the residence and called a number connected to Mr. LeBrun several times, also with no response. Mr. LeBrun eventually returned Deputy Fegan’s calls and agreed to meet him at the Turner Hannaford parking lot so Mr. LeBrun could turn himself in. After waiting a period of time with no appearance by Mr. LeBrun, Deputy Fegan concluded Mr. LeBrun was not going to meet him and returned to the Plains Road residence.
At approximately 10:10 pm, Deputy Fegan observed a vehicle arrive at the Plains Road residence. A male, later identified as Mr. LeBrun, exited the passenger seat and got into the white Chevy pickup truck, earlier identified as Mr. LeBrun’s, and attempted to leave. Deputy Fegan pulled alongside the pickup truck, drew his firearm, and commanded Mr. LeBrun to get out of the truck. LeBrun refused, stating he was going to park the truck at his father’s house, and drove out of the driveway onto Plains Road. Deputy Fegan activated his lights and sirens, alerted dispatch that Mr. LeBrun had taken off and began to pursue Mr. LeBrun. Mr. LeBrun failed to stop for Deputy Fegan and fled at high rate of speed. As Mr. Lebrun approached his father’s house, he appeared to attempt a left turn into the driveway, however Mr. Lebrun aborted the turn and continued to flee.
Deputy Michael Jones heard Deputy Fegan advise dispatch he was in pursuit of a white pickup truck and responded to the town of Turner to assist Deputy Fegan. Deputy Jones went to the Turner Town Office located on Turner Center Road and readied a spike strip for deployment.[1] Deputy Jones saw a white pickup truck heading towards him with Deputy Fegan in pursuit and deployed the spike mat across the road. Mr. LeBrun drove over the spike strip and continued driving on Turner Center Road. Deputy Jones collected the spike strip and joined Deputy Fegan in his pursuit of Mr. LeBrun. After traveling a short distance on deflated tires, Mr. LeBrun became unable to steer his vehicle and ran it into a tree.
Mr. LeBrun exited through the driver's door with a handgun in his right hand. Deputy Fegan exited his own vehicle and went to the front of the cruiser while yelling commands to get down at Mr. LeBrun. With his finger on the trigger, Mr. LeBrun raised his firearm and pointed it directly at Deputy Fegan. Deputy Fegan turned and ran toward the back of his patrol vehicle with his handgun out, looking over his left shoulder but fell, and couldn’t stand back up. Deputy Fegan touched his left knee, felt a deformity, and believed he had been shot in the leg by Mr. LeBrun. Still on the ground, Deputy Fegan could see Mr. LeBrun holding the gun by his side, near the pickup, and Deputy Fegan fired his gun multiple times at Mr. LeBrun, who also fell to the ground.
Deputy Jones arrived on the scene and observed Deputy Fegan on the ground behind his cruiser and then located Mr. LeBrun on the ground near the driver’s side door of his pickup truck. Mr. LeBrun’s gun was approximately two to four feet away from him. Deputy Jones advised dispatch two ambulances would be needed.
Deputy Fegan later told investigators when he was laying on the ground, he believed Mr. LeBrun was going to come around the cruiser and shoot him. Based on the outstanding charges, Deputy Fegan felt Mr. LeBrun had nothing to lose. Deputy Fegan’s cruiser camera captured the high-speed chase from 544 Plains Road until Mr. LeBrun ran his truck into the tree. It also captured Mr. LeBrun exiting his truck and pointing his handgun in the direction of Deputy Fegan. After pointing his handgun at Deputy Fegan, Mr. LeBrun can be seen walking back to his truck with the gun in his hand while watching Deputy Fegan’s movements. Gunshots can be heard on the cruiser camera, then Mr. LeBrun is seen falling to the ground.
Mr. LeBrun later told investigators with the Attorney General’s Office that after he hit the tree, he got out of the truck with his gun and pointed it at the deputy from about 3 feet away. He decided he couldn’t fire at the Deputy and took his finger off the trigger, intending to put the gun in his truck or on his tonneau cover, when he was shot. Mr. LeBrun’s handgun was taken by members of the evidence response team and determined to be a 40-caliber Springfield, model XD, with 9 cartridges in the magazine and one cartridge in the chamber.
Discussion and Legal Analysis
The Office of the Attorney General has exclusive responsibility for the direction and control of any criminal investigation of a law enforcement officer who, while acting in the performance of the officers’ duties, uses deadly force.[2] The detectives who conduct these investigations are independent of any other law enforcement agency. The sole purpose of the investigation in this matter was to determine if a criminal prosecution was warranted or if self-defense or the defense of others was reasonably generated by the facts.[3] Any such prosecution would require the State to disprove self-defense or the defense of others beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation did not include an analysis of whether any personnel action might be warranted, whether the use of deadly force could have been averted, or whether there might be civil liability. Indeed, state law provides that the fact that conduct may be justifiable under the Maine law does not abolish or impair any other remedy available under the law. Whether the use of force by a law enforcement officer is reasonable is based on the totality of the particular circumstances and is judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, allowing for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second decisions about the amount of force necessary in a given situation. The legal analysis requires careful attention to the facts and circumstances of each case, including the severity of the crime threatened or committed and whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of others.
Conclusion
When Deputy Fegan shot Mr. LeBrun, he reasonably believed that Mr. LeBrun was going to shoot him. After agreeing to meet Deputy Fegan at Hannaford, Mr. LeBrun instead went to the home of his girlfriend, got in his pickup truck, and engaged in a high-speed chase with Deputy Fegan. He continued to flee after sustaining tire damage and stopped only after running his truck into a tree. He immediately got out of his truck with his firearm in his right hand. Deputy Fegan exited his cruiser and issued commands to get down. Mr. LeBrun’s response was to point the loaded firearm at Deputy Fegan. Deputy Fegan fell as he ran toward the rear of his cruiser for cover, tried to get up and couldn’t, felt a deformity in his knee, and thought he had been shot. While lying on the ground, Deputy Fegan could see Mr. LeBrun near his truck with the gun still in his hand. Believing Mr. LeBrun would pursue him to shoot him, Deputy Fegan fired at Mr. LeBrun. All the facts and circumstances support the conclusion that Deputy Fegan acted in self-defense when he shot Mr. LeBrun.
Sincerely,
Aaron M. Frey
Attorney General
Footnotes
- A spike system is a tire deflating device with sharp hollow spikes used by law-enforcement to safely stop vehicles by puncturing and deflating a vehicle’s tires.
- 5 M.R.S. § 200-A
- Under Maine law, for a law enforcement officer to lawfully use deadly force in self-defense or the defense of others, two requirements must be met. First, the officer must reasonably believe that unlawful deadly force is imminently threatened against the officer or another person and, second, the officer must reasonably believe that the use of deadly force is necessary to defend the officer or other person. 17-A M.R.S. § 107(2)(A).