BIDDEFORD — The York County District Attorney’s Office is now investigating an incident that took place on the sidewalk in front of Headlines Barber Shop and Salon, at 193 Main St., earlier this week.

At about 6 p.m. Tuesday, an altercation occurred involving Westbrook Police Detective Sgt. John Desjardins and Brian McMahon, the manager of the barber shop. Desjardins was off-duty at the time, getting dinner in Biddeford with his wife and a friend.

Desjardins and McMahon paint a very different picture of what exactly happened.

McMahon said Wednesday that he was standing on the street corner, waiting for a friend to pick him up, when Desjardins pulled his SUV to the side of the road. Thinking it was his friend, who has a similar looking vehicle, McMahon said he approached the SUV and grabbed the front, passenger-side door handle, before realizing his error and apologizing.

But at that point, he said, Desjardins pulled out a gun, pointed it at his chest and told him to back away from the vehicle.

McMahon said he obliged. “When this gun came out, I easily took three steps back with my hands in the air,” he said.

McMahon said Desjardins and his friend then got out of the vehicle, and Desjardins identified himself as a police officer. “I kept telling him, ”˜Really? You’re gonna pull a gun on me? You’re gonna shoot me?’” he said.

After telling the two men he was going to call the police, McMahon said Desjardins walked toward him, shoving him with enough force to send him through the barber shop’s storefront window. The three took off in the vehicle seconds after that, he said.

Desjardins said Friday, however, that McMahon was not polite and calm as he claims to have been when approaching the vehicle.

“Out of nowhere this guy comes up on my wife’s door and he’s got this enraged look on his face, while he’s saying, ”˜Get the (expletive) out,’ while pulling hard on the door handle,” Desjardins said, describing McMahon’s actions.

Desjardins said his wife was so scared that she buried her head in his lap. “I can hear (McMahon) swearing, ”˜Get the (expletive) out, get the (expletive) out,’” he said.

Desjardins said he then grabbed his gun from the center console and pointed it at McMahon, demanding he step away from the vehicle. After that, he said he and his friend, who’s a neighbor, got out of the vehicle, and he identified himself as a police officer.

At that point, said Desjardins, McMahon became “even more enraged” and started “taunting” him. “He’s up in my face. He’s so close I can see the snot bubbling out of his nose,” he said, adding that McMahon appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“He’s not listening to my commands to back up and get away from me,” Desjardins said. “Action beats reaction every time, so I reacted with a shove, and when I shoved him he stumbled backwards … partly from the shove and partly from being impaired.”

McMahon stumbled a few feet back, falling through the barber shop window, said Desjardins. The officer said he then drove to the Biddeford Police Department to give a statement about what happened. ­

Biddeford police said Friday that it has completed its investigation of the incident but wouldn’t comment on it as it’s still under investigation at the county level. The Westbrook Police Department is not currently conducting its own investigation into the matter, and Desjardins has not been suspended.

Desjardins said in his 20 years as a police officer he’s never come that close to shooting someone, and he knew from the moment he pulled the gun out he’d face criticism for it.

“It’s not something I wanted to happen,” he said. “That being said, I’d do the exact same thing again. All of my actions were effectively reactions to (McMahon’s) actions.”

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or averzoni@journaltribune.com.