Vermont State Police have identified the Montpelier police officer who shot and killed a 62-year-old man on the Spring Street bridge early Friday morning.
Montpelier Police Cpl. Chad Bean was named in a release Saturday by state police as the officer who fired his patrol rifle.
Bean has been employed by the Montpelier Police Department since February 2007.
Police say Bean, armed with his patrol rifle, fired on 62-year-old Mark Johnson after Johnson raised what appeared to be a pistol in the direction of officers while on the Spring Street bridge at about 5:15 a.m. Friday.
Vermont State Police Maj. Dan Trudeau said at a press conference Friday that Johnson refused orders to drop the weapon, which was later identified as a pellet gun.
Johnson was rushed by ambulance to the Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, where he was later pronounced dead, according to police.
Johnson’s body was taken to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy. According to police, the results of the autopsy determined the cause of Johnson’s death was two shots to the torso, and the manner of death was “homicide/shot by police.”
The incident leading to the shooting began around 5 a.m. Friday when police were called by a tenant at the Pioneer Apartments on Main Street, just a short distance from Spring Street, for a report that Johnson had been trying to enter a unit there with a knife to jimmy a lock.
Some residents who live in the apartment complex said Friday that Johnson, who also lived in the building, had used a knife in the past when he forgot his keys to try to get into his own unit there.
Vermont State Police are heading the investigation into the shooting.
The release Saturday by state police also named the other Montpelier police officer at the scene as Chris Quesnel.
Police did not identify the two officers Friday. Typically, police withhold the names of officers in police-involved shootings for 24 hours. Both officers have also been placed on administrative leave as is department protocol for officer-involved shootings.
Once the investigation into the Friday morning shooting by Vermont State Police is concluded, it will be sent to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Washington County State’s Attorney Office for independent reviews.
