Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark has cleared a Vermont State Police trooper of criminal wrongdoing after he shot and killed a man in Orange earlier this year in a reported struggle with the man over a sawed-off shotgun.
Trooper Adam Roaldi fatally shot Jason Lowery, 41, who authorities said lived in various locations in central Vermont, on June 12 in Orange, according to police.
“Based on the facts and circumstances and consistent with Vermont law, Attorney General Clark concluded that the use of force by Trooper Roaldi was objectively reasonable and justified,” the attorney general’s office said in a press release Wednesday.
“Under the totality of the circumstances,” the release said, “trooper Roaldi reasonably believed that he was in imminent danger of being killed or suffering great bodily harm at the hands of Mr. Lowery, and he used necessary and appropriate force to defend himself.”
Orange County State’s Attorney Colin Seaman, whose office conducted its own independent review of the fatal shooting, also determined the use of deadly force was justified, according to the attorney general’s office press release.
The incident took place as Roaldi responded to a residence on Spencer Road in Orange to conduct a welfare check on a young child and the child’s father, as requested by their case manager, the release stated.
At the property Roaldi saw an unconscious man, later identified as Lowery, inside a vehicle with a sawed-off shotgun next to him, according to the release.
Roaldi called for medical assistance, believing that Lowery, who had a needle in his arm, was overdosing on drugs, the release stated.
Lowery soon after woke up, spoke to the trooper and was ordered out of the vehicle, according to the release.
“After initially refusing, Mr. Lowery eventually exited his vehicle. As Trooper Roaldi attempted to secure the sawed-off shotgun located inside the vehicle, a struggle ensued,” the release stated.
“During the struggle, Mr. Lowery gained control of the sawed-off shotgun and pointed it at Trooper Roaldi, who then used his service weapon to fire three rounds at Mr. Lowery,” the release added. “Mr. Lowery fell to the ground and continued to manipulate the sawed-off shotgun, prompting Trooper Lowery to fire an additional three rounds at Mr. Lowery.”
Lowery was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police, and an autopsy determined that his cause of death was gunshot wounds to the neck and torso.
Police had said at the time of the shooting that Lowery had been subject to an active warrant on a charge relating to fentanyl trafficking.
The attorney general’s office said in its release Wednesday that in reaching its decision to not bring any charges in the case it reviewed all materials provided by Vermont State Police.
State police investigate fatal shootings by police officers in Vermont, including those that involve state police.
