DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — The wife of Michael Curtis, the man who shot Udo Schneider to death and in turn was killed by a Maine State Trooper late last year, has filed a notice of claim for wrongful death against the Maine State Police.
Margaret Curtis, the widow, is seeking monetary damages in excess of $1 million.
The Maine State Police, Col. Robert Williams, Lt. Gary Wright and Trooper Jon Brown, the man who shot Curtis, 46, of Sangerville, are named in the claim.
Bangor attorney Hunter Tzovarras filed the notice of claim on behalf of the estate of Michael Curtis. Tzovarras said he thinks that Curtis was unarmed at the time he was shot, which differs from the attorney general’s report on the trooper’s use of deadly force which concluded that Curtis was still armed when he was shot.
“We have reason to believe that [Curtis] had thrown his gun out of the vehicle or thrown the gun onto the floor of the passenger’s side of the vehicle,” Tzovarras said Thursday.
A notice of claim is required under Maine law for anyone suing a governmental entity, according to Assistant Attorney General William Fisher. The notice, dated May 25, was filed with the Maine State Police.
“A notice of claim is basically a statement that says, in effect, you’ve wronged me this way and these are the people who did the wrongdoing,” said Fisher. The case is investigated for six months by the attorney who filed the claim, during a time where the case can be settled out of court. “Just the fact that a notice of claim has been served doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a lawsuit, he said.
“A notice of claim preserves your rights. That’s what the estate of Michael Curtis has done,” said Fisher.
Tzovarras said a lawsuit was “highly likely.”
The document claims wrongful death; assault; negligence; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligent infliction of emotional distress; excessive force; unlawful use of deadly force; violations of the Fourth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution; and violations of Article One, Section Nine of the Maine Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
In one key area, the notice of claim contradicts the part of the attorney general’s report that cleared Brown in the fatal shooting — that Curtis was unarmed at the time he was shot.
“Trooper Brown shot and killed Mr. Curtis at a time when he was unarmed and did not present any threat to Trooper Brown or anyone else,” states the notice of claim. “Furthermore, Mr. Curtis was not fleeing or a risk to flee at the time he was [shot] and killed by Trooper Brown.”
In contrast, the attorney general’s report states that Curtis was still armed with his .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol at the time Brown shot and killed him. Attorney General William Schneider concluded in the report that “it was reasonable for Trooper Brown to believe that deadly force was imminently threatened against [Piscataquis County] Sheriff [John] Goggin, if not others, and it was reasonable for Trooper Brown to believe that it was necessary for him to use deadly force to counter that imminent threat of deadly force.”
Tzovarras said Thursday, “Obviously we disagree with the attorney general’s conclusion that force was justified. We’ll start our own investigation [into the incident]. We were waiting to see how the attorney general’s investigation was going to come down.”
Col. Williams and Lt. Wright also are named in the claim because Brown was under their command.
“The policy and customs of the Maine State Police and Col. Williams and Lt. [Wright] directly led to Trooper Brown’s unlawful use of deadly force against Mr. Curtis. Trooper Brown was not properly trained or supervised in a manner to prevent the unlawful use of deadly force,” states the notice of claim.
The document claims that Michael Curtis suffered the following injuries: loss of life, pain and suffering, emotional distress, anxiety, mental anguish, pecuniary damages, loss of future earning, medical and funeral expenses.
It goes on to say that his wife Margaret suffered the following injuries: loss of consortium, society and companionship, loss of earning, emotional distress, anxiety, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, pecuniary damages, medical and funeral expenses.
According to Tzovarras, Margaret Curtis, who represents her former husband’s estate, had 180 days to file the notice of claim after Nov. 30, 2011, based on Maine’s tort claim act. The time restriction wouldn’t have prevented her from suing under federal law, however.
On the morning of Nov. 29, 2011, Michael Curtis left his Sangerville home after having an argument with his wife Margaret.
Curtis, who was a Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department dispatcher, drove to Hilltop Manor in Dover-Foxcroft, where he shot and killed Udo Schneider, 53, of Sangerville. Schneider is the ex-husband of Curtis’ wife, with whom he had two children.
Curtis then drove to the Piscataquis Valley Fairgrounds where police converged on him. Maine Drug Enforcement Agent David Wilson heard Curtis fire four shots while at the fairgrounds. According to the attorney general’s report of the incident, Wilson concluded that Curtis fired all four shots into the air.
Sheriff Goggin had established contact with Curtis and was walking across the field unbeknownst to Trooper Brown who yelled to Curtis to show his hands. When Curtis failed to do so, Brown fired three shots at Curtis with his rifle. The shots missed Curtis and struck his truck. Curtis fired another shot from his pistol into the air at that time, according to the attorney general’s report.
Brown talked with other officers at the scene and then repositioned himself along with current Dexter Police Chief Kevin Wintle in a wooded area north of Curtis’ location. Goggin had resumed walking toward Curtis and was about 150 feet from him when Brown shot Curtis with his rifle.
“At the time of the shot [that killed Curtis], Mr. Curtis was still armed and was looking in the direction of Sheriff Goggin,” states the attorney general’s report.
Curtis was taken to a local hospital where he died a short time later.
According to the attorney general’s report, Curtis’ pistol had seven live rounds in it at the time of his death. It was determined that he had reloaded his gun after killing Schneider. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Margaret Greenwald also determined that Curtis had a blood-alcohol content of 0.216 percent.
Brown was placed on administrative leave following the shooting. He is set to return to active duty on Aug. 25.
Good luck with that [sarcasm].
Yup, unarmed. He was at the fair grounds delivering bibles.
seriously?? what about Udo? isnt that wrongful death? dont you think that curtis would have been put away for life? so how can you file a lawsuit and claim loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, suppose that wouldnt have been the case if he didnt die?
took the words right out of my mouth.
from the conversations i have have had with someone who knows the ex Udo was a cruel Vindictive man who harassed his ex on a weekly basis. sounds like an abuser who pushed someone a little too far. hope she gets several million. cops in Maine have a shoot first screw the questions attitude not even to metion the load of crap it is to have the AG review cop shooting. should be an independent body
“from the conversations i have have had with someone who knows the ex” = Rumor
no rumor is heard from someone who knows someones who knows someone who knows someone who talked to the ex. get it right
Rumor = an unverified account or explanation of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an object, event, or issue in public concern.
You heard an account that you cannot verify and are now circulating that “story”. Therefore it is a rumor.
It is also “hear say” which is information gathered by one person from another person concerning some event, condition, or thing of which the first person had no direct experience.
So if you weren’t present for the conversation it is a rumor.
AKA Hearsay. Which is not admissible in criminal proceedings.
harassment oks cold blooded murder? I hope she gets several million too…that way the victims family will hopefully take every penny for the murderous actions of Curtis when their lawsuit is filed.
Ricko let me say I have no idea why the moderator has decided to remove your posts. As far as I am concerned they were not offensive (at least to me) but they were removed never the less. And for the record I did not flag any of them either.
Do yo know about the history in this case? Don’t even go there unless you do.
Do you know the “history in this case” Ms. Saunders? Do you have first person knowledge? Does a man deserved to be murdered in cold blood based on words?
Don’t kill people and then fire shots in the air and you won’t get shot.
This is absolutely unbelievable. All of these claims by this woman that her husband suffered were also suffered by Udo Schneider. Although I feel that people are way too sue happy, it should be Udo’s family that is suing Mr. Carters estate.
Well..If she wins that should cover about half of the amount the Schneider family should be suing the Curtis estate for.
By no means, should Mr. Curtis been shot if he was unarmed…. with that being said, let’s see if I follow this correctly…
In the morning of the events – Mr. and Mrs. Curtis argued while Mr. Curtis was intoxicated (almost 3x legal limit), he then drove (DUI) to Hilltop Manor when he shot and killed some one (ex of wife he argued with). After the shooting, he leaves the scene of the crime to drive to the Piscatiquis Fairgrounds. Then once there (with cops surrounding him) he fires off four shots.
At what point in this sequence of events should Mr. Curtis NOT have been considered dangerous?
The moment he was unarmed and surrendered.
who knows, maybe the other officers felt threatened still, plenty of criminals carry more than one gun around.
In tense situations, when the criminal has already murdered someone and demonstrated complete disregard for the law, you have to act quickly and expect the worst.
The situation was under control, the suspect had surrendered, and the sheriff was approaching to apprehend him. If it was a threatening situation, other officers on scene probably would have been acting accordingly.
a twitch of the hand, a fast movement, acting before you’re ordered to,
tense situation, and no one knew the further intent of the criminal.
Brown was ~500 feet from Curtis when he fired, the Sheriff was 150 feet. Brown was also looking at Curtis’s back when he fired. I would say not only did the Sheriff have a better view, he also was much closer. If the Sheriff didn’t feel the need to be shooting at a surrendered man, then why did the hot dogging trooper?
500 feet away? impressive! i’d have to say that the firearms training paid off then.
Any competent marksman could make a 150 yard center mass shot with an AR all day. This trooper missed 3 times.
Was Curtis right or left handed?
That is your guess. Why do you want to knoe????????????????????
If Mr. Curtis is right handed then Trooper Brown saw his right hand based on the MEs report that the round fired by Brown entered the right rear chest and traveled across the chest and exited the left front chest.
how do you know this information? were you there? did you witness it? or are you just speculating based on some incomplete article?
Was you there???????
Surrender is face down on the ground, arms straight out to the side, feet crossed at the ankles and face turned away from the approaching officer. That is the position of surrender for an armed and dangerous person.
At no point in any of the articles I have read (other than the decease’s wife) did it say that he was unarmed at the time of the shooting. It says he was asked by an officer to show his hands when he was still in the vehicle and he did not, that is when they shot him. If he was unarmed and was in the process of surrendering like your comment implies then why not show your hands when you are told to by an officer of the law?
I guess we just have to wait and see how it unfolds. Consider that the trooper was 2-300 yards away while shouting show your hands, during which Curtis was communication via radio, and the trooper started firing before he had any situational knowledge of the scene.
Where do you find the reference to “2-300 yards away”? The AGs report references the Sheriff was 800 feet away and Trooper Brown was “several hundred feet”.
When Trooper Brown found a spot where he had a closer and clearer view of Mr. Curtis, he aimed and fired one round at Mr. Curtis. At the time of the shot, Mr. Curtis was still armed and was looking in the direction of Sheriff Goggin, who was less than 150 feet from him. Trooper Brown was nearly 500 feet from Mr. Curtis when he discharged the rifle. The round struck Mr. Curtis. Medical aid was rendered at the scene and Mr. Curtis was taken by ambulance to a local hospital where he died a short time later. PER AG REPORT
So you just admitted that Mr. Curtis was armed.
From you post above – ” At the time of the shot, Mr. Curtis was still armed and was looking in the direction of Sheriff Goggin, who was less than 150 feet from him…PER AG REPORT”
And the report will be entered into evidence in any civil action.
I would be curious – and I will pose the questions that others have – since you have not answered it for them…. Do you have inside knowledge of this case? Why do insist on defending Curtis?
What knowledge do you have???????
The knowledge I have is what I have read in the BDN since the shootings occured and the AGs report…. what knowledge do you have?
Do you know that hie hand wern’t shown??????????
It said that in numerous reports – he was asked to show his hands and he did not, that is when he was shot… If you look at the link jd2008jd provides in this same thread you will see a link to the AGs report where this is all laid out.
I have read the report!
Were you there at the Fairgrounds? Did you see the murderer throw down his weapon and put his hands in the air? If not, maybe you should reconsider your daily defense of this murderer.
I’m pretty sure at this point that “perifunl” is the sheriff guy that yelled at the state trooper guy after the state trooper guy shot the Curtis guy.
Did you hear this????????????????
Was you there????????????????????
Surrendered is face down on the ground with your hands cuffed behind your back. If he’s within lunging distance of a gun, he’s armed in my book. Lets not act like he hadn’t just put 12 rounds into an ACTUAL unarmed man before firing off multiple rounds in the presence of responding officers.
Can you prove Mr. & Mrs. Curtis argued was you in there home to make that statment? At that level of consumption he would have been comatose. That in it’s self was legaly in a coma. So what is the legal comsumption on Curtis? Something doesn’t compute!!!!!!
Ms. Saunders, here is the link to the AGs report http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/attach.php?id=409905&an=1
Actually a person with a BAC of 0.216% would not be comatose but would show signs and symptoms of ataxia (lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements), agraphia (inability to write), apraxia (unable to perform tasks or movements when asked). Coordination severely affected. Loss of orientation. Emotional instability. Balance disturbances. Apathy and emotional eruptions. Numbness and slowed reaction to pain stimuli. Partial amnesia.
Again, I am going based on all the different reports and articles I have read on the situation since they have occurred. I would imagine by looking at the FB page linked to your screen name that you and Mr. Curtis were fairly close, and if that is the case I am sorry about what you are going through and the loss (and obviously anger – to some extent) you are feeling. Sometimes it is hard for people to see an unfavorable side of some one they love shown in the news….
I don’t think Mike was going to hurt anyone else, however How would Trooper Brown have known that? Good ol’ boy Goggin was on a PRIVATE fire channel on a two- way! AND in plain clothes! Just another case of the “club” in that town doing whatever they want. A Major breakdown in command and communication is what got Mike killed ( and his own actions) not Brown’s actions!
In the end, it is only the bottom feeding lawyers that get paid. The lawyers write the laws,. Most lawyers I know are not that bright but they are bright enough to know where they are allowed to steal from people and get away with it.
This is a high risk case, the contingency will be about 60/40 (lawyers way after all court/travel/misc. fees are applied) and then the amount will come in at whatever the insurance company decides to part with, if at all. The crumbs, if awarded for the wrongful death claim will be next to nothing.
A countersuit from the Maine State Police would be nice if/when she loses.
I wish her the best and I hope this proves that justice can be served even if it is only civil.
wish her the best? her husband murdered someone.
Mr. Schnieder had 2 kids, and their father was taken from them.I wish the murdered victims family the best.
Curtis had two kids of his own when he was murdered. No consideration for them?
“when he was murdered”
he killed a man first, in cold blood.
Last time I checked, committing a crime didn’t void your right to live. This is the United States of America and we have a constitution that says people get to go before a judge and jury. Maine doesn’t even have the death penalty as a punishment. So regardless of what Mike Curtis did before he was murdered, it did not and cannot nullify his right to exist.
depending on what state you’re in, if you commit a certain crime (murder, capital murder) then you can be sentenced to death, so therefore if you commit said crime, you essentially void your right to live as sanctioned by the courts.
Maine is not one of those states so your comment is moot.
It’s not moot,
you’re making a generalization that murder doesn’t nullify your right to life.
in some places it does, so therefore your general statement is false.
Except that in no way was Curtis subject to the death penalty so in the context of my original comment, your point is moot.
Are you saying that Mr. Curtis did not shoot an unarmed man multiple times leaving him to die?
Try reading BEFORE posting
I have read every single one of your post peri….your focus on Mr. Curtis, a cold blooded murderer to the exclusion of the real victim is truly mind boggling.
Why do you ignore that Mr. Curtis murdered another human being in cold blood? Why do you forget about that little fact that lead up to Mr. Curtis’s deadly encounter with Trooper Brown?
About the only thing you have right over the past several days is Mr. Curtis death was a homicide. Which is a medical conclusion, assigned by the MEs office and means the death was the result of human interaction. Every single police involved shooting that results in the death of a suspect is classified as a homicide.
eye for a eye
Did Curtis have consideration for his kids? Absolutely not. I have to say its been disgusting to watch you defend this murderer day after day when these stories surface…completely disgusting. You act as though Curtis was gunned down while he was checking his mailbox.
Maybe he should have thought about his children PRIOR to murdering Mr. Schnieder.
I wish her the best too peri…I hope she recovers well over $1,000,000.00. And then I hope the children of Mr. Schneider file a lien against the estate of Mr. Curtis pending the filing of their own Wrongful Death Lawsuit against the estate.
Your defense of a cold blooded murder is sickening….I hope you never experience what Mr. Curtis did to anyone you care about.
You realize she is the mother to two of Udo’s kids right?
And you realize there are more than two children and several grandchildren too don’t you? And children have been know to file suit against parents too. Just ask Rosa Scarcelli or Chuck Yeager.
This is EXACTLY what is wrong with the legal system. What a waste of taxpayer money. No common sense, anywhere.
Oh, and if any lawyers are reading, I would like to file a lawsuit on behalf of the taxpayers of the State of Maine against the woman and lawyer bringing this ridiculous lawsuit forward.
“It goes on to say that his wife Margaret suffered the following injuries: loss of consortium, society and companionship, loss of earning…….”
Ridiculous! How could he have provided any of those while serving 25-life for murder? Maybe by claiming that being slopped in the AM clouded his judgment.
He deserved to be brought to trial before a judge and jury. He was murdered before the Sheriff could guarantee that.
he was not murdered, he was killed by the police.
after he had already killed an innocent man.
He was murdered by a lone wolf state trooper acting against the orders of higher ranking officials. State police covered up for their own publicly and privately punished Brown. The state looks out for itself and will never admit wrong doing.
The fact Curtis killed someone only means he should have gone before a judge and jury . It does not mean he deserved to be shot in the back after throwing his gun on to the other side of his truck.
why do you insist on defending criminals.
would you feel different if it was your father/brother/son that curtis had killed before getting shot by the police?
That is not how our justice system works. We are not Iran or North Korea. We are not Saudi Arabia or Soviet Russia. We are supposed to be the leaders of the free world and the paramount of freedom and justice.
An eye for an eye is not the way it is and is not the way it should be.
“An eye for an eye is not the way it is and is not the way it should be.”
how should it be then?
kill someone, get a few years, then live on?
Obviously the US Constitution means nothing to you so it is fruitless to continue on.
obviously you’re trolling and have no sense of the meaning of justice.
he is a state trooper. Who exactly is his superior officer on that scene? I mean within his department? Or who exactly was in charge of the scene? I personally do not know the proper chain of command in a situation such as this. It was an incident in Dover-Foxcroft, so wouldn’t their department take the lead? Why was the Sheriff assuming command? I know it was in his jurisdiction, but his would not be the primary department in charge would it? Who does give orders to troopers when they are lending aid? I really would like honest answers and not just anger fueled ranting about something that you seem to have a personal stake in.
There is a set incident command system. Learn more at
http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/IncidentCommandSystem.shtm
UDO was no innocent man
OK Ricko….what did Mr. Schneider do to deserve to be shot multiple times and left to die?
youv are 100% right
you’re calling the state trooper a coward?
He was trying to protect the citizens of maine from a murderer.
way out of line. flagged.
No….the coward was the man that shot the unarmed man at the nursing home multiple times.
she is just trying to get free money. If i was her i would be mad that her husband shot and killed his exs new man. Looks like he was really in love with the ex not his wife. she just want money for nothing. What a shame.
oh sorry it was his wifes ex oh. well still he was not thinking of his kids or his wife at the time he was thinking of being a killer not a cop or even a real man. just a spoiled brat wanting what he wanted and did not care about anyone but himself.
It’s all about the $$$$$. Didn’t this guy kill another person?….if so I would say he is a threat. And when you do not listen to a trooper this is what happens. And if she is the ex-wife…..it is certainly about the money…..The lawyer just wants to see if he can a piece of the pie also.
Just because the guy that shot him was not named Darwin does not negate the destiny this person had coming.
Tzovarras said he thinks that Curtis was unarmed at the time he was shot, which differs from the attorney general’s report on the trooper’s use of deadly force which concluded that Curtis was still armed when he was shot.
That statement would want me to get another attorney, especially a guy who wasn’t there. “thinks he was unarmed” is this Attorney a rookie? You are to prove something was done wrong not “think” that something was done wrong. Right now, you got a police officer who shot based on the threat of danger, and a report to back it up, let the useless battle in the court system begin.
The Trooper saved the Sheriff’s life where Curtis was still armed!The Sheriff’s should stick to running the jails.
Open comment to the BDN…leaving posts up for hours on end and then deciding to remove them for no reason seems rather dishonest to your readers and the people making comments. If they remained untouched for hours (as some of Ricko’s did) why remove them now?
Thank you. Maybe i had you pegged all wrong. i have read some of your other posts and most other stuff we seem to agree on.
Dear BDN how about you send me an email first letting me know that my comment had been removed. Second how about in that same email you tell me why my comment was removed so that i may change it accordingly and re post. your help in the this matter would be greatly appreciated.
I had them do the same thing to me a while ago on another article… I had a comment that had 30+ likes and a few replies and the whole thread randomly disappeared even though I could not find anywhere that it seemed to go against the “rules” they have for the comment section. I really like your suggestion about e-mailing us to let us know what we did wrong, as I was very curious at the time myself…
I hope the family of Udo Schneider files a wrongful death claim against the estate of Micheal Curtis. If anyone shoudl receive any type of compensation for the events of that day it should be them. This is the biggest case of a frivilous lawsuit I have ever seen. Lost wages, lost companionship etc. You have to be kidding me! Micheal Curtis had just murdered an unarmed man in broad daylight, in front of witnesses at his place of employment. He was going to be in jail the rest of his life with any luck at all. The idea that the taxpayers of the State of Maine will have to defend the actions of the state trooper(who I believe acted correctly) is truly ridiculous.