FARMINGTON — A former chief judge and chairman of the U.S. Board of Veterans Appeals said Monday that after decades of war, Americans still do not understand post-traumatic stress disorder.

Charles Cragin, of Raymond, who in 2009 was appointed chairman of a study commission on Gulf War I veterans, commented Monday following the shooting death Saturday morning of former U.S. Army Ranger Justin Crowley-Smilek.

“No one outside of the military and Department of Veterans Affairs is trained to deal with these sorts of issues because America has just become so disconnected from its military,” Cragin said. “There are stories behind these young men and women who are coming home.”

Crowley-Smilek, 28, who served in Afghanistan, was shot by Farmington police Officer Ryan Rosie outside the Farmington municipal building on U.S Route 2. Crowley-Smilek had called the police dispatch center from a telephone in front of the building. When Rosie came outside, Crowley-Smilek came at him in a threatening manner with a knife and was shot, police said.

Crowley-Smilek’s father, Michael Smilek, said his son had come home from the war with severe combat stress. He suffered from bouts of substance use and had frequent problems with police as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder, his father said.

Autopsy results released Monday by the Office State Medical Examiner’s show Crowley-Smilek died Saturday from multiple gun shot wounds. Brenda Kielty, spokeswoman for the Office of Attorney General, which is investigating the shooting, said the investigation into the shooting has not been completed.

Michael Smilek and his former wife, Ruth Crowley, of Portland, Ore., Crowley-Smilek’s mother, could not be reached Monday for additional information.

Cragin said the civilian community cannot recognize post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury from the battlefield. He said reports of Crowley-Smilek’s frequent arrests and run-is with police since his discharge are evidence of combat stress.

“Rather than just say this is some crazy guy with a knife, when you look at all the scrapes with law enforcement, you’ve got to understand that this is an issue dealing with terrible injuries, but are not as manifest as amputations,” he said.

Crowley-Smilek went to court on an assault charge the day before the shooting. The judge, on advice from Kary Laban, a licensed clinical counselor who treated Crowley-Smilek, ordered a full psychological evaluation.

Laban and Michael Smilek said the former soldier had not been suicidal, but had become delusional in recent days. Michael Smilek said his son had stopped taking his medication.

Both Smilek and Laban wondered why police had to use deadly force on someone who had a knife, when the officer could have disarmed him with pepper spray, a shot to the knee or a Taser.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

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