Authorities identify Charlestown officer who shot suspect after high-speed chase

The attorney general’s office identified Jacob Sands as the Charlestown police officer who shot a 23-year-old man after a high-speed pursuit last month.

The shooting injured Christian Paquette, who authorities said sped away from an attempted traffic stop at up to 90 miles per hour. Paquette had been speeding, and the car he drove did not have a license plate, according to a press release.

Sands tried to make a traffic stop around 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 14. He chased Paquette as he pulled over and fled on foot, and he found the suspect holding a knife near the area of 60 Caryl Lane, north of downtown Charlestown. Paquette refused to drop the weapon and moved toward Sands, who deployed deadly force.

Paquette is still being treated for gunshot wounds, the attorney general’s office said. He was charged with criminal threatening of a deadly weapon, disobeying an officer and resisting arrest as well as reckless operation of a vehicle and driving an unregistered car. His arraignment is scheduled for later this month.

The attorney general’s office investigates every use of deadly force by police officers and will determine whether Sands’ actions were legally justified. Law enforcement is allowed to use lethal force as a last resort when they reasonably believe their lives or the lives of others are in danger.

Sands has six years of experience in law enforcement and joined the Charlestown Police Department earlier this year.

Paquette is the eighth person to be shot by law enforcement in 2025, with other incidents occurring in Manchester, Pelham, Keene, Dover, Derry and Londonderry.

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