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'It's about accountability' | Family of man shot and killed by police in Minot files federal lawsuit

Jason Gora died in February 2020, the Maine Attorney General found the shooting was justified, but his family says it still does not add up.

PORTLAND, Maine — The family of a man shot and killed by police last year in Minot has filed a federal lawsuit.

Jason Gora died in February 2020 after leading police on a high-speed chase through several towns.

After over a year of investigation, the Office of the Maine Attorney General ruled the shooting was justified in April, saying the police acted in self-defense.

"It's called accountability. We need answers," Gora's aunt, Dale Bois, told NEWS CENTER Maine Monday after the suit was filed. "Maine is of course famous for always listing everything as justified. Their excuse is always, 'We feared for our life.'"

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But Bois said officers should not have feared for their lives the night her nephew died. Instead, they should have helped. 

Police were looking for Gora after family members called worried for his mental health and fearing he might take his own life. 

Once they found him driving his Jeep, they chased him through several towns. 

According to the report by the attorney general's office, deputies reached speeds of more than 80 miles per hour before Gora crashed his Jeep into a Mechanic Falls police cruiser. 

That is when dashcam and body cam video shows Gora running from his car and into a nearby field and parking lot with armed officers running after him. 

Police fired dozens of shots at Gora, according to the report. Eight of them ended up hitting Gora, killing him. 

The reports said he had a knife that officers mistook for a gun. 

The lawsuit on behalf of Gora's wife, Nicole, takes aim at Androscoggin County, its sheriff and several deputies, as well as the Town of Mechanic Falls, its chief, and an officer, for their roles in the incident.  

The family's attorney, Verne Paradie, said a critical point of concern is that it is believed Gora tripped and fell, but body camera video of one of the officers shared with the family and media outlets suddenly cuts out at the moment the first shots are fired.

That same video obtained by NEWS CENTER Maine shows a solid green screen at the moment in question.

"We are told that's a malfunction in the body camera, but that's a little interesting, to say the least," he said. 

Paradie argues in the lawsuit that all the officers involved claimed Gora had a gun despite dispatch recordings to the contrary, failed to provide life-saving aid to Gora once he was shot, and should not have started the pursuit in the first place. 

"It's hard to Monday morning quarterback," he said. "However, they were told he didn't have a gun, he was doing nothing illegal, and in my view, they should have stopped."

Credit: Dale Bois
Jason Gora's family held a graveside service for him this weekend, before filing a federal lawsuit.

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This weekend, family members and friends were finally able to lay Gora to rest. Bois said while it was a moment of closure, they still have so many questions they want answered. The hope is that this lawsuit helps do that.

"If it can happen to my family it can happen to yours," she said. "It's not about the money. It's accountability."

The Maine attorney general's office declined to comment on the lawsuit. Attorneys representing Androscoggin County and Mechanic falls did not immediately return NEWS CENTER Maine's requests for comment. 

The lawsuit comes as Maine has recorded 10 police-involved shootings this year.

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