The officers included eight Vermont State Police troopers and a corporal from the Montpelier Police Department.
Also in the case, a death certificate filed this week with the state Department of Health shows that Nathan Giffin, 32, of Essex, died at 11:47 a.m. on Jan. 16 of “rifle wounds of torso.” The document does not state how many times he was shot.
The autopsy was performed at the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Burlington.
The manner of death is listed on the document as homicide. Vermont State Police are conducting an investigation into the shooting. Once complete, that investigation will be turned over to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office who will review it to determine if the officers’ use of deadly force was justified.
Police said Giffin had robbed the Vermont State Employees Credit Union earlier on the morning of Jan. 16 and was fleeing when he was confronted by an officer on the grounds of the nearby high school.
Police said they attempted to negotiate with Giffin during a standoff that lasted about 50 minutes. Police said Giffin made suicidal statements and threatening statements directed at officers.
“Giffin continued to display the handgun and ignored orders from officers to surrender his handgun,” police said in a statement issued on the day of the shooting. “At this time multiple officers of the Vermont State Police and Montpelier Police Department shot Giffin.”
Police said they later discovered that the weapon Giffin was holding in his right hand was a BB-gun.
The troopers identified by state police who fired shots are Sgt. Lyle Decker; Trooper Christopher Brown; Sgt. Cory Lozier; Sgt. Eugene Duplissis; Sgt. Charles Winn; Sgt. David White; Trooper Brandon Degre; and Trooper Isaac Merriam.
Cpl. Michael B. Philbrick is the Montpelier Police Department member who also fired.
Maj. Glenn Hall, head of the state police criminal division, said policy requires troopers involved in a shooting to be off duty for a minimum of three consecutive days, and must meet with a department clinician before they are cleared for full duty.
He added that he could not disclose details of the investigation, such as how many shots were fired, while the case remains under review. Hall said he could not provide an exact time for when the probe would be complete, but hoped it would be done within the next “several weeks.”
