RUTLAND, Vt. — An internal investigation by the Rutland City Police has determined that a 19-year-old officer’s death was preventable and faulted experienced officers, VTDigger reported.
Trainee Officer Jessica Ebbighausen was killed during a pursuit when a suspect struck her cruiser head-on, according to the news report. A report authored by now-retired Rutland City Police commander Sam Delpha stated that the pursuit should never have occurred.
“Both Officer (Jared) Dumas and Corporal (Richard) Caravaggio’s actions, or lack thereof, were direct contributing factors in the cause of Officer Jessica Ebbighausen’s death,” Delpha stated.
The burglary suspect involved in the 2023 crash is awaiting trial for aggravated murder.
The report found that senior officers supervising Ebbighausen failed to adhere to policy. According to the investigation, the supervisors did not have the authority to initiate the pursuit. Delpha stated that the department’s pursuit policy was written to prevent “this exact sort of thing.”
“Even if the pursuit was legitimately started, supervisors had a duty and responsibility to stop the pursuit,” Delpha wrote. “There was plenty of time in between radio transmissions for supervisors to take control of this situation and make the appropriate decisions.”
The pursuit began when Officer Jared Dumas pursued a suspect fleeing in his truck, according to the report. Two other cruisers, including the one that Ebbighausen was driving, were headed “toward Dumas’s location to assist.” Training Officer Richard Caravaggio was in the passenger seat.
As Dumas pursued the suspect, the suspect vehicle veered across the centerline and struck the cruiser Ebbighausen was driving at speeds of around 76 - 82 mph. Ebbighausen was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. She was not wearing a seatbelt during the pursuit.
Delpha stated in the report that Dumas did not have probable cause to arrest the suspect at the time he initiated the pursuit.
“Dumas did not have any evidence of a fresh break-in, did not have any evidence [the suspect] had stolen or damaged anything while inside, or violated any kind of court orders, and did not have any evidence that [the suspect] was armed or made any threats.”
Even if there was immediate evidence of a burglary, the action still wouldn’t have met the policy’s threshold of a violent felony required to initiate a pursuit, according to the report.
Dumas’s body camera footage shows he never requested permission to pursue the suspect over the radio as he was following him with lights and sirens activated, which Delpha labelled a “clear violation of policy.” Dumas can be heard responding to radio inquiries from Police Commander Charles Whitehead that the pursuit was in connection to a burglary, according to the report.
“It is at this point, based on the radio conversations alone, someone at any rank should have stopped this pursuit,” Delpha wrote.
Delpha stated that Whitehead, Caravaggio and Sgt. John Dickerson all had the authority to stop the pursuit, but failed to do so, according to the report.
Following the incident and during the internal affairs investigation, Delpha performed interviews with officers involved in the crash. He stated, however, that he was unable to interview Dumas. Dumas transferred to the Rutland Town Police Department, where his father is chief. He allegedly did not respond to interview requests from Delpha and “accused [the Rutland City Police Department] of being retaliatory because he switched departments.”
In Caravaggio’s interview with Delpha, he stated that he understood Dumas to be merely following and monitoring the suspect, not engaged in a pursuit. He stated that he wasn’t sure why he and Ebbighausen were not wearing seatbelts, but speculated it was because they left the station in a hurry.
The report found Dumas committed multiple policy violations, including conducting a pursuit with no felony cause and not seeking authorization. Caravaggio was found to have violated policy by not wearing his seatbelt, not ensuring his trainee was wearing a seatbelt and by improperly using a “seatbelt defeat buckle assembly.”
Dickerson violated policy by failing to advise Dumas that his pursuit was out of policy, according to Delpha’s report.
