Off-duty Vermont sheriff's deputy shot by NY cops after he ignored officers’ demands to drop gun
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK: Saratoga Springs has reported a shooting where an off-duty Vermont sheriff’s deputy and a group of men were involved in a late-night brawl. According to the police, gunfire was exchanged on Sunday, November 20, and the deputy was shot by police multiple times after ignoring officers’ demands to drop his weapon.
“By my count, there are at least eight separate, clear, unequivocal commands to put the gun down and get on the ground,” said Saratoga Springs Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino at the press conference. “They are all ignored,” Montagnino added. As per the officials, the gunfight began before a heated argument around 3 am between the two parties, where the deputy was allegedly thrown into a parked vehicle and pushed to the ground by three people at the corner of Broadway and Caroline Street, reports the Daily Gazette. It further claims that he then pulled out his gun while brushing himself off and exchanged shots with another person in the group who was armed too. It is estimated that around 7-8 shots were fired between them, as per the police report.
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Immediately after the shooting took place, nearby cops rushed to the scene and noticed the deputy holding the gun. The bodycam footage released shows that the officers repeatedly asked him to put his gun down but he refused it. The deputy suffered 10 bullet wounds, however, it includes both entry and exit wounds.
“So it doesn’t mean that he was shot 10 times, it simply means that there were 10 wounds. It’s certainly possible that he was shot half that number or even less,” Montagnino said. "If a bullet penetrated an arm and lodged in the chest, that could be three wounds from one round,” he added, as per the New York Post.
He was then taken to a local hospital for treatment and is in stable condition as per the recent medical report, reported WRGB-Albany. Montagnino added, “Outside of a training exercise, or putting down a rabid animal, this is the first time in 26 years that an officer of the Saratoga Springs Police Department had to discharge a firearm in the line of duty.”
Police had closed Broadway between Lake Avenue and Division Street for many hours amid the shooting on Sunday, November 20. In a statement, Montagnino further said he is working with Mayor Ron Kim to implement security wands at all city bars. There have been arrests made until now, while New York State Police investigates the shooting.