Updated at 8:38 p.m.
Vermont State Police said the trooper who shot and killed a man in Orange on Wednesday afternoon was in a struggle with the man to secure a sawed-off shotgun.
Police on Thursday identified the victim of the shooting as Jason Lowery, 41, who lived in various locations in central Vermont. An autopsy completed that day determined that Lowery died from gunshot wounds to the neck and torso, according to a state police press release, and the death was ruled a homicide.
An initial investigation by state police found that Adam Roaldi, a state trooper based at the Berlin barracks, had been called on to conduct a welfare check on “a matter related to a juvenile” at a residence on Spencer Road in Orange. When Roaldi arrived, he spoke with people at the residence. “After dealing with the primary call,” Roaldi saw an unconscious man who was later identified as Lowery in the driver’s seat of a vehicle, the release stated.
Roaldi alerted dispatch to the situation and called for medical professionals to respond to a possible overdose. The trooper then tried to speak to Lowery, who had regained consciousness, the release said, and “noticed a sawed-off shotgun near (Lowery) and repeatedly ordered him to exit the vehicle.”
“The struggle over possession of the shotgun and the subsequent shooting by Trooper Roaldi were captured on his body-worn camera,” the release said.
Roaldi has been placed on paid leave, police said, per standard procedure following such a shooting.
Police said that Lowery had been subject to an active warrant on a charge relating to fentanyl trafficking.
When the state police investigation into the shooting is complete, the case will be turned over to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Orange County State’s Attorney’s Office for independent reviews of the use of lethal force, according to the release.
Correction: Due to inaccurate information provided by Vermont State Police, an earlier version of this story misspelled Jason Lowery’s name.
