The Associated Press
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont State Police trooper was justified when he shot and wounded a man who had led officers on a high speed chase last summer on Interstate 89 in Bethel, the attorney general’s office said Thursday.
An investigation concluded that Cpl. Paul Gauthier was justified in shooting James Millett because Millett was threatening the trooper with a moving vehicle, the state said.
The incident began on June 22, at about 7:05 a.m. when a 911 call was made by a motorist who saw Millett assaulting a passenger on I-89 near White River Junction.
Millett refused to stop after Gauthier located the vehicle.
During the chase, “Millett drove the Neon in an extremely reckless manner, endangering the lives of other motorists as well as the police in pursuit,” a news release said.
A number of police agencies were involved in the chase, which ended when a cruiser pushed Millett’s vehicle into the median.
Gauthier got out of his cruiser and repeatedly ordered Millett to stop and get out of the vehicle. Millett refused to comply with these orders, the release said.
“The weight of the evidence supports a conclusion that, when Millett backed his vehicle in the direction of and in close proximity to where Gauthier was standing, Gauthier fired three shots into the Neon, one of which hit Millett in the leg,” the release said.
Millett was charged with a variety of offenses after the incident. He is currently being held at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield.