Ludlow Police Chief Jeffrey Warfle shot and injured a man on New Year’s Day after the man allegedly pulled a knife at a downtown hotel where he had been living, according to Vermont State Police.
The wounded man, Jaime Gomez, 18, was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, where he was continuing to receive care, Vermont State Police said in a press release Friday.
State police, who are heading up the investigation, had reported Thursday that Gomez was in stable condition. He is facing two felony charges, state police said.
Police had released few details about the Thursday morning shooting prior to issuing the press release late Friday afternoon that provided more information. According to the release, at about 6 a.m. Thursday, local police received a call reporting a disturbance at the Fox Run Inn on Main Street.
Warfle responded to the scene and encountered Gomez who, according to the release, was reported “to be agitated and destroying property” there.
“Video of the encounter shows the chief spoke with Gomez and attempted to de-escalate the situation,” the release stated, adding that as Warfle spoke to a witness, Gomez approached them and refused to follow Warfle’s commands.
Gomez, the release stated, then “pulled an item from his pocket and lunged at the chief. At that point Chief Warfle fired his service weapon, striking Gomez, who then dropped a knife.”
The release did not specify how many shots Warfle fired or where Gomez was struck.
After the shooting, Warfle called for medical assistance for Gomez and for additional first responders to come to the scene, the release stated.
The state police have obtained an arrest warrant for Gomez on one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and another of attempted aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to the release. It’s unclear who the victim was in connection with each charge.
State police referred questions about Warfle’s employment status to the Ludlow Police Department. A person who answered a call to the police department Friday afternoon said Warfle was on leave and would not be back for a few days.
The Vermont Attorney General’s Office and a county state’s attorney’s office will conduct separate use-of-force reviews into the shooting to determine if the police chief’s actions were legally justified.
The last police-involved shooting in Ludlow took place in August 2022, when Ludlow Police Officer Zachary Paul fatally shot 35-year-old Michael Mills, of Cavendish, following a car chase. Mills was reportedly dealing with a mental health crisis and had made many calls to police that night before the pursuit. Reviews by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Orange County State’s Attorney’s Office found that Paul’s use of force was “objectively reasonable and justified.”
Paul, who was 21 at the time, had recently joined the Ludlow Police Department after graduating from the Vermont Police Academy. At the time of the shooting, Warfle was in the cruiser with Paul and was his field training officer. Warfle did not fire his gun during the incident.
Warfle, who was appointed Ludlow’s police chief last year, had previously worked as a Rutland City police officer. In that position, he was the subject of a Brady letter in February 2019. The letters are filed by prosecutors when an officer’s credibility is called into question and can often mean the end of an officer’s career.
Then-Rutland County State’s Attorney Rose Kennedy drafted the letter. She said the letter stemmed from Warfle issuing a citation to a person on a charge of disorderly conduct, but following a complaint Warfle admitted that the person’s conduct did not rise to the level of a charge.
According to the state police press release Friday, Warfle has been cooperating with investigators but had yet to be interviewed.
