Police: Augusta, Maine Man Allegedly Stabbed Wife During Confrontation with Officer

An Augusta man is accused of stabbing his wife Friday afternoon while a police officer was attempting to separate the pair, later telling investigators he had hoped police would shoot him.

According to an article from the Kennebec Journal, Marlon E. Cloutier, 60, was arrested and charged with domestic violence elevated aggravated assault after the incident on Mount Vernon Avenue.

According to an affidavit by Officer Aaron Paradis, he was parked near 143 Mount Vernon Ave. around 3:30 p.m. when he saw a man and woman, followed by a German shepherd, running past his cruiser. The woman appeared to be in distress, and Paradis followed them to a nearby gas station lot, where they had fallen on the sidewalk.

the KJ reported that Paradis said Cloutier had his arm around the woman and was holding her by the hair. When ordered to release her, Cloutier refused. As the officer moved in, Cloutier made a motion toward the woman similar to a punch, then threw an object into a snowbank. Paradis soon realized the woman’s arm had been stabbed, and the discarded object was a large knife with a several-inch blade.

Backup officers responded, Cloutier was handcuffed, and an ambulance was called. The KJ explained that during that time another officer applied a tourniquet. The woman was taken to Maine General for a stab wound that went completely through her arm. She was subsequently treated and released.

Police say the couple had been arguing, and Cloutier had learned she planned to leave him. Cloutier told officers he’d been depressed and had considered ending his life, saying he stabbed his wife because he hoped the officer would shoot him.

Cloutier, already out on bail, was taken to the Kennebec County jail with no bail allowed.