AP Exclusive: ICE officer in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, family and records say

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Immigration and Customs Enforcement serviceman who changeable a Colombian antheral successful Maine this week is an Army seasoned who has struggled with superior intelligence wellness issues since aboriginal puerility and ne'er should person been fixed a badge and weapon to patrol American streets, respective of his adjacent relatives told The Associated Press.

David Brouillette has a past of terrifying and convulsive behavior, according to those relatives. They impeach him of attacking women successful his beingness implicit the years, and 1 shared a voicemail with the AP from past wintertime successful which helium told her that helium thought idiosyncratic should slit her throat.

Brouillette’s troubling past further challenges however thoroughly the Department of Homeland Security has vetted recruits arsenic it went connected a hiring spree to assistance transportation retired President Donald Trump's migration crackdown.

At slightest 10 radical person died successful encounters with migration agents since Trump launched the crackdown aft retaking office, including 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Colombian nationalist who was changeable and killed by Brouillette connected Monday portion successful his car adjacent his location successful the coastal Maine metropolis of Biddeford.

DHS, which hasn't released the sanction of the serviceman who killed Durán Guerrero, has said the “vehicle attempted to fly the country and, fearing for nationalist safety, an serviceman discharged his weapon.”

Brouillette didn’t respond to substance messages oregon an email seeking comment. Three relatives who said they spoke to him since the shooting, including an ex-wife and daughter, said helium told them helium acted successful self-defense.

When reached for remark astir Brouillette's grounds and his relation successful Monday's shooting, ICE spokesperson Lauren Bis said successful a connection that, “We volition ne'er corroborate oregon contradict attempts to dox our instrumentality enforcement officers," and that “The ICE serviceman successful question has astir a decennary of national instrumentality enforcement acquisition with required grooming including usage of unit training.”

The White House referred each questions astir the shooting and Brouillette to ICE.

A caller vocation successful ICE

Brouillette, 37, told his ex-wife Ashley Brouillette precocious past twelvemonth that helium had been hired by ICE. She said that due to the fact that of his agelong past of psychiatric issues, she thought helium was having a intelligence wellness occurrence and she didn't judge him. She didn’t recognize he’d been telling the information until this week, erstwhile videos began circulating online of the moments surrounding the shooting.

Ashley Brouillette told the AP that she spoke to her ex-husband successful a Facebook audio call, and helium acknowledged that helium had killed Durán Guerrero. Their 18-year-old daughter, Madison Brouillette, besides told the AP that her begetter called her Wednesday and said that helium changeable and killed Durán Guerrero.

David and Ashley Brouillette were precocious schoolhouse sweethearts who got joined successful 2007. She said she divorced him successful 2009 due to the fact that helium had go physically convulsive with her, which began aft she got large with their daughter.

According to Ashley Brouillette, helium erstwhile threw boiling h2o astatine her portion she was holding their kid — an incidental her parent Avis Collins besides recounted.

The maltreatment continued aft she near him, she said.

David Brouillette doesn't look to person a transgression grounds successful Maine, arsenic a cheque with the Maine Department of Public Safety returned nary records for him.

But hundreds of household tribunal records obtained from the Augusta District Court clerk’s bureau item years of allegations of carnal and verbal maltreatment raised by his 2nd ex-wife connected behalf of herself and his daughters.

The ex-wife — whom the AP is not identifying due to the fact that she fears retaliation — alleged that helium had stalked and harassed her and physically and verbally abused his daughter, according to aggregate requests for impermanent extortion orders. Brouillette tackled his teenage girl and smashed spaghetti successful her hair, and during different outburst, helium dragged his girl astir the location arsenic she cried, she said.

“Dave needs counseling oregon thing for his PTSD & depression,” she wrote successful an exertion for a impermanent protective bid connected behalf of his teenage girl which a justice granted successful 2021.

In tribunal filings, David Brouillette said that his 2nd ex-wife had slandered him.

His oldest daughter, Madison Brouillette, said she besides witnessed her dad’s volatility.

“I watched my dada conflict a batch with a batch of things,” she told the AP. She said she came location from schoolhouse erstwhile and helium told her helium had been sitting connected a histrion stump with a weapon to his head.

“If you don’t really, genuinely instrumentality attraction of yourself, there’s nary mode you tin support different people. And with my dad, helium ne'er wanted to get help,” she said.

An contiguous comparative of David Brouillette who spoke connected the information that their sanction not beryllium utilized said helium was diagnosed with manic bipolar upset and attraction shortage upset arsenic a kid — a diagnosis that Ashley Brouillette confirmed. The contiguous comparative described him arsenic “extremely mentally ill" and said helium attempted termination doubly astatine property 12 and was hospitalized aggregate times.

The comparative said they've been estranged for years, aft they broke disconnected interaction due to the fact that they feared helium would harm them. He did not respond to their outreach this week, the comparative added.

A subject vocation and instrumentality enforcement aspirations

Growing up successful Gardiner, a metropolis of astir 6,000 radical astir 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Biddeford, wherever Monday's shooting occurred, David Brouillette was enchanted by instrumentality enforcement and the military, his relatives said.

High schoolhouse yearbook photos amusement helium was a subordinate of the school’s Naval Junior ROTC, and helium wrote that helium planned to spell to assemblage and go a constabulary officer.

Brouillette was initially rejected by subject recruiters due to the fact that of his intelligence wellness diagnoses, but recruiters encouraged him to spell disconnected his medications for a twelvemonth and reapply, which helium did, his contiguous comparative said.

He was yet capable to enlist.

According to U.S. subject records, Brouillette enlisted arsenic a chemic instrumentality repairer successful the Maine Army National Guard but past changed jobs to beryllium a aesculapian logistics specialist. He was successful the Guard from November 2007 until January 2010, according to records provided by the Pentagon.

A 2009 nonfiction successful the Kennebec Journal listed Brouillette arsenic a backstage successful the Maine Army National Guard’s 152nd Maintenance Company successful Augusta.

In January 2010 helium joined the regular Army arsenic a quality quality collector. Brouillette deployed to Afghanistan from May 2012 to February 2013 and yet near the Army arsenic a sergeant successful December 2015.

His contiguous comparative believes Brouillette's clip overseas worsened his affectional struggles: “Afghanistan destroyed him -- trained him to beryllium a sidesplitting monster, a machine. They took idiosyncratic who was highly mentally sick and turned him into a sidesplitting machine.”

Life aft the Army

In March 2025, Brouillette passed an exam to go a existent property income agent. His licence was progressive until December. In a Facebook post, Realty of Maine announced Brouillette would beryllium moving successful the firm’s Bangor office.

“David lives successful Maine aft retiring from the United States Army,” said the post, which has since been deleted. Brouillette is nary longer listed arsenic an cause connected the firm’s website. Messages seeking remark were near for Realty of Maine.

In March, the Maine bureau that handles kid enactment matters filed a lien against him, nationalist records show. The filing suggests that Brouillette whitethorn person been successful enactment for a imperishable impairment oregon disablement settlement.

In precocious 2025, astir the clip helium joined ICE, his ex-wife Ashley said helium near a three-minute voicemail mocking her for taking retired a restraining bid against him. According to the connection she shared with AP, helium repeatedly called her “disgusting” and suggested that she and the different women and girls successful her “bloodline” should die.

“And each of you should person your f——--g throats cut,” the voicemail said. “Yeah, you should. Am I threatening that I’m gonna bash that? Nope. Nope. But bash I deliberation that you should person your f——-g throats cuts? Or should person had them cut? Yep.”

She said she chopped disconnected interaction with him until Wednesday, erstwhile his representation began circulating online

She reached retired to his existent woman connected Facebook and they spoke connected the telephone for respective minutes. Her ex-husband spoke with her, according to cellphone screenshots of the telephone speech she shared with the AP. He acknowledged helium had fatally changeable Durán Guerrero.

“He was asking if I could archer them that helium was a bully idiosyncratic and not to speech astir the maltreatment and worldly that I had endured good with him and helium said that the astir important happening is his quality close now,” she said.

She said helium told her helium is present hiding successful protective custody.

“I asked him wherefore helium did it,” she said. “He said it was a justified shooting. The feline was trying to tally him implicit with a car.”

His girl besides said helium told her it was justified.

“I don’t deliberation helium sees himself arsenic a killer,” Madison Brouillette said.

“I deliberation helium thinks that helium genuinely did the close thing,” she added. “All helium said was that helium did what helium had to do. He said that helium had to support himself.”

___

Brook reported from New Orleans, Sisak reported from New York and Galofaro reported from Louisville, Kentucky. Associated Press newsman Will Weissert successful Washington contributed to this report.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.