Rutland City Police Chief Brian Kilcullen has rejected a public records request for any police audio or video of events leading up to the fatal crash last month that killed 19-year-old Rutland City Police Officer Jessica Ebbighausen.
VTDigger submitted the public records request last week, seeking any and all police audio and video the department has leading up to the crash. Kilcullen said in a previous interview that there is cruiser dash camera footage and police officer body camera footage of the events.
Kilcullen, in a letter emailed Friday to VTDigger, rejected the public records request.
Among the exemptions to the Vermont Public Records Act that Kilcullen cited was one concerning records that are “relevant to litigation to which the state (public agency) is a party of a record.” Another addresses records that, if made public, “would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication.”
A criminal case is currently pending against Tate Rheaume, 20, of Salisbury, in connection with the July 7 crash. Vermont State Police said Rheaume was fleeing officers who were looking for him for allegedly harassing and breaking into the residence of a former partner in Rutland.
Before the fatal crash, Rheaume was driving a pickup truck west on Woodstock Avenue around 2:50 p.m., according to state police. At the same time, state police said, two Rutland police cruisers were traveling east toward him, including one driven by Ebbighausen. She was with a supervising officer, Richard Caravaggio, who was in the passenger seat.
State police said Rheaume crossed the centerline into the eastbound lanes of Woodstock Avenue, colliding with the cruiser Ebbighausen was driving and then with another eastbound cruiser.
Ebbighausen was thrown from the cruiser she was driving and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to state police. Neither Ebbighausen nor Caravaggio was wearing a seat belt, state police said.
Rheaume has since been charged with grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle and attempting to elude authorities, both with death resulting. He has entered not guilty pleas.
Ebbighausen had worked for the department for less than two months as a part-time, Level 2-certified officer. She was set to begin training at the Vermont Police Academy this month to get her full certification.
According to Friday’s public records denial, VTDigger can appeal Kilcullen’s decision to Rutland Mayor Mike Doenges, which the news organization intends to do. If the police chief’s denial is upheld, VTDigger can challenge the matter in court.
Vermont State Police has been conducting the criminal investigation into the crash and the events leading up to it to avoid any conflict of interest, since Rutland City police officers were involved in the incident.
Adam Silverman, a spokesperson for the state police, said it is not uncommon for the specialized state police Crash Reconstruction Team to be called in to handle multi-vehicle crashes involving a large scene.
“We are an outside agency, so we have that degree of separation,” he said.
Silverman said it wasn’t clear when state police investigators would complete their investigation.
“There are still some aspects that are ongoing, especially related to the incidents prior to the pursuit,” he said.
The Rutland City Police Department plans to conduct its own internal investigation, looking into whether any policies and procedures were not properly followed, according to Kilcullen.
The chief said the internal review would take place after the state police probe is completed and its findings are reached.
Kilcullen said he did not see a conflict in the city police conducting an internal review about whether its own policies and procedures were followed. “We have the capacity to conduct our own internal investigation; a lot of agencies don’t,” he said.
He cited instances in which state police conducted probes into police shootings, after which the city police department then followed up by performing its own internal investigation.
“Once the internal investigation is complete, whatever steps need to be taken to address any issues raised in the internal investigation are addressed by me,” Kilcullen said.
The police chief added that he wasn’t sure how much of the internal investigation would be made public. He said he expected that in “some form or fashion” at least parts of the report could be publicly released, though he said he needed to discuss it with the city attorney.
Though state police stated in a press release that Rheaume “led Rutland police on a brief high-speed pursuit,” Kilcullen disputed that wording.
“They were not taking part in a pursuit,” he said of the eastbound officers, including Ebbighausen. “They were responding to the area to assist an officer who was attempting to locate a vehicle.”
He also said it was “not clear” that the westbound officer was involved in a pursuit, or exactly how close that officer ever got to Rheaume’s vehicle.
“Once the state police investigation is complete, we’ll start our own internal investigation and make those determinations,” the police chief said.
Asked if Ebbighausen should have been driving in response to that call, Kilcullen said there were no policies or procedures that prevented her from being behind the wheel at that time, adding she was with a supervising trainer.
“The fact that she was driving had nothing to do with the tragic events that we’re talking about,” the police chief said.
Rheaume has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is awaiting trial. He has posted $100,000 bail and is court-ordered to abide by a 24-hour curfew and stay with his sister in Haverhill, New Hampshire.
