Portland police shoot and kill man after chase to Casco Bay Lines terminal

PORTLAND — A 37-year-old man with an extensive criminal history was fatally shot by Portland police Thursday night after a violent crime spree that included threatening seafood workers, stealing vehicles at gunpoint, and leading officers on a high-speed chase through the city before crashing at the Casco Bay Lines ferry terminal.

Jacob Hastings was pronounced dead at the scene after officers fired at him near Gate 1 of the ferry station, according to the Portland Police Department. No bystanders were injured despite the chaos unfolding in a densely populated area with dozens of people present.

The terrifying sequence of events began around 9:30 p.m. when police responded to reports of shots fired at Spring and Oak streets, near the Holiday Inn By The Bay. Officers searched the area but found no suspect.

Less than an hour later, according to police, Hastings arrived at Nova Seafood while workers were loading and unloading food. He indicated he was armed and demanded that staff turn over a company pickup truck.

"Nobody was hurt," said George Branco, operations manager at Nova Seafood. "Thank God none of our team or nobody in the community got hurt."

Hastings drove off in the stolen truck, and what followed was a flurry of emergency calls across the city. Police received multiple reports of crashes and additional vehicles stolen at gunpoint, though investigators have not confirmed whether Hastings was directly involved in all of those incidents.

Around 10:30 p.m., a vehicle smashed through a fence at a parking lot on Sewall Street near Thompson's Point, slamming into a light pole before tearing through the barrier. Witnesses described screeching tires and wreckage scattered across the area.

Minutes later, a woman working as a contracted security guard at the Portland Transportation Center was sitting in her vehicle when a man approached her in a threatening manner and stole her car at gunpoint, according to Ben Blunt, president of Concord Coach Lines. The guard was described as holding a silver revolver.

Lewiston resident James Dionne was in the area when he saw the vehicle barrel through the fence and onto Sewall Street, pursued by several police cruisers.

Police pursued the vehicle along Congress Street to Franklin Avenue before the chase ended in the Casco Bay Lines parking lot.

At that point, approximately a dozen people were in the ferry terminal lobby and surrounding area, said Ben Dinsmore, general manager of Casco Bay Lines.

Officers ordered Hastings out of the vehicle. According to police, he "failed to follow commands" and reached into his waistband, "presenting his hands as though he had a firearm in the direction of officers." Officers then fired, striking Hastings.

Investigators later recovered a firearm in one of the stolen vehicles.

"Fortunately, nobody from Casco Bay Lines or passengers or any bystanders were hurt," Dinsmore said Friday. "But certainly, it's a traumatic and emotional experience to go through."

Dinsmore said staff immediately contacted arriving ferries and asked captains to hold offshore rather than dock. Once authorities gave the all-clear around 11:30 p.m., passengers were evacuated. Investigators remained in the terminal area until approximately 5 a.m. Friday, though the ferry system has since returned to normal operations.

Bullet holes were visible Friday in the metal siding near the ticketing entrance and a shattered window pane.

The three officers involved—Anthony George, Jordin Jackson, and Greg Ishihara—have been placed on administrative leave while the Maine Attorney General's office investigates whether the shooting was justified. That office reviews all police shootings in the state and has not ruled any unjustified since at least 1990.

Hastings' criminal record dates to 2006 and includes convictions for robbery, theft, aggravated assault, and criminal mischief. In 2017, he was convicted of unlawful sexual contact with three children under age 12 in 2014. Most recently, he faced a criminal mischief charge in Cumberland County.

According to reports from Old Orchard Beach police in 2016, intelligence bulletins warned that Hastings had previously threatened "to kill as many police officers as he can" and was identified as an alleged member of the Aryan Brotherhood white supremacist group.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General's office declined to provide additional details about the investigation.