Updated 4:22 p.m.
Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan has issued a Brady letter against retiring Rutland City Police Chief Brian Kilcullen and retired Rutland City Police Commander Sam Delpha, accusing them of suppressing a report critical of officers’ actions in a deadly chase.
Sullivan’s letter stated that the two had improperly failed to disclose the findings of the internal affairs report that sharply criticized police officers for their roles in the vehicle pursuit that killed a fellow officer and led to a murder charge against the fleeing driver.
The prosecutor’s letter was sent Monday to defense attorneys in Rutland County. Often termed a “Brady” or “Giglio” letter, the names refer to national court cases. The letters are filed when an officer’s credibility is called into question, and can often effectively end a law enforcement career because prosecutors may decide not to take cases the officer had investigated due to the credibility concerns raised in the letter.
The internal affairs report became public through a court filing by the lawyer for the Salisbury man, 22-year-old Tate Rheaume, facing an aggravated murder charge in the death of the officer, 19-year-old Jessica Ebbighausen, during the high-speed chase in Rutland in July 2023.
The action Monday by Sullivan comes two days after the Rutland City Police Commission held a special meeting where it announced that Kilcullen, who had been city police chief since 2015, would be retiring early, effective March 1.
According to the public statement Saturday from the commission, supervisory oversight of the department has been passed to Rutland City Police Commander Matthew Prouty, who will serve as interim police chief with Kilcullen providing support to him during the transition.
The internal report, conducted and authored by Delpha, found that Ebbighausen’s death was “preventable” if police had followed proper procedures. Ebbighausen had only joined the department a few weeks earlier as a new recruit.
Rheaume, who was driving the vehicle pursued by police that day, has been held in jail without bail awaiting trial on a murder charge in Ebbighausen’s death.
VTDigger reported on the investigation’s findings earlier this month, and Seven Days reported that Kilcullen had known about the report but had not discussed its contents with the police commission, the civilian panel charged with providing oversight of the police department.
According to Sullivan’s letter, despite assurances that his office would be kept “in the loop” about the completion of the internal investigation, he wasn’t told when it was done.
Kilcullen, a footnote in the letter stated, had reported to the Rutland City Police Commission that the report was finished in March 2025.
“Despite the numerous requests for information about the timing of completion of the internal investigation and a commitment by the former City Attorney to do so,” Sullivan wrote, “Chief Kilcullen did not inform the State’s Attorney’s Office that the internal investigation was complete in March of 2025, April of 2025, May of 2025, June of 2025, July of 2025, August of 2025, or September of 2025.”
Also, according to Sullivan, Kilcullen did not disclose to the police commission the contents of the report or its findings. The findings only became public when David Sleigh, Rheaume’s attorney, subpoenaed the report and eventually filed it in court as part of a defense motion.
In his letter, Sullivan wrote that at a meeting of the police commission earlier this month, a commissioner asked Kilcullen why he withheld the report, and Kilcullen allegedly replied, “to avoid potentially impacting” the criminal case against Rheaume.
“The prosecution did not tell Chief Kilcullen that suppression of evidence favorable to the defense is acceptable,” Sullivan wrote in his letter. “Quite to the contrary, we sought the internal investigation materials so we could disclose them to the defense.”
The prosecutor added that Kilcullen’s statements to Seven Days and the police commission “demonstrate that he suppressed evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal case in an attempt to shape the trial.”
“Despite reaching conclusions that were favorable to a criminal defendant, retired Commander Delpha did not provide this information to the Rutland County State’s Attorney’s Office,” Sullivan wrote.
Neither Kilcullen nor Delpha, who retired earlier this year, could immediately be reached Monday for comment.
It’s not clear what, if any, role Sullivan’s letter played in Kilcullen’s decision to retire early. Kilcullen’s most recent contract was extended in June and was set to expire in 2027.
Sullivan said in an interview Monday he didn’t notify Kilcullen ahead of time that he would be issuing a Brady letter. He said that last week he did “convey” to Rutland City Mayor Michael Doenges the same concerns he raised in the letter.
“I said I would be taking further action, or words to that effect,” Sullivan said he told the mayor.
Asked what impact the Brady letter would have on the ongoing prosecution of the criminal case against Rheaume, Sullivan replied, “I can’t offer any additional comment.”
Also Monday, Sleigh, Rheaume’s attorney, wrote an email to several entities, including to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, regarding Kilcullen.
Kilcullen “deliberately withheld exculpatory evidence to influence the outcome of a murder case and to prejudice the Defendant’s right to a fair trial,” Sleigh wrote in the email, adding, “I am asking each of you to investigate, prosecute and discipline the former Chief formally and thoroughly.”
Lauren Jandl, the attorney general’s chief of staff, said in an email Monday that the office had received Sleigh’s request.
“As the concerns identified in the email relate to an ongoing criminal case, we would refer you to the Rutland County State’s Attorney’s Office,” Jandl said.
