Chittenden County State’s Attorney TJ Donovan at a news conference Thursday announcing that a police shooting in Winooski was justified. Photo by Morgan True/VTDigger
Deputy Nicolas Palmier, 31, fired on Jesse Beshaw behind a community center on Malletts Bay Avenue on Sept. 16. Beshaw, 29, of Winooski, was shot six times and grazed by a seventh bullet, according to Maj. Glenn Hall of the Vermont State Police. Beshaw was unarmed.
Officials said Thursday that Beshaw was a suspect in a recent string of bank robberies in the area, and Hall had already said Beshaw was known to carry a gun.
Palmier was returning to his home in Winooski when he saw police outside a Union Street home where Beshaw, who was wanted on a burglary warrant, was holed up, according to officials. Palmier stopped to help Winooski officers, who briefed him on the situation before he joined the response. Beshaw fled the home, and Palmier gave chase, officials have said.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney TJ Donovan said at a Thursday news conference that Palmier was justified in shooting Beshaw, because Beshaw shouted that he would pull out a gun, ignored Palmier’s commands and throughout the confrontation kept a hand behind his back at waist level “in a manner consistent with holding a firearm.”
Beshaw advanced on Palmier shouting, “Do it,” according to officials.
Attorney General William Sorrell agreed that the shooting was justified.
According to state law, police in Vermont are allowed to use lethal force if they “reasonably” believe that a person presents a threat of serious bodily harm to themselves, the officer or others present.
The state police, who investigated the shooting, released 25 minutes of body camera footage that many media outlets had requested, saying the video would bear out the version of events presented Thursday.
VTDigger is reviewing that footage, and this story will be updated.
Donovan said Palmier “acted as a reasonable person would have” in the confrontation with Beshaw.
Donovan said he had spoken with Beshaw’s family before the news conference. They reviewed the footage together, he said, and he told them of his decision not to prosecute. He said they were understandably upset by the video and his decision.
Donovan said he offered them the opportunity to address the media, but they declined.
Thursday was the third time in 10 months Donovan stood before a podium in his office and announced to reporters that an officer who shot and killed someone was justified.
A theme that unites all three of those incidents is that the “strategy and tactics” that police use need to be reviewed and improved, especially when confronting people who may be struggling with mental illness, Donovan said.
While he believes that police do need better training in de-escalation tactics, Donovan said Palmier “had no chance to de-escalate the situation” that occurred when he confronted Beshaw.
Palmier is on paid administrative leave and is receiving mental health counseling, said Franklin County Sheriff Robert Norris. Palmier is expected to return to work, Norris said.
Palmier was previously fired from two Vermont police departments. Norris, who hired Palmier last year, said he was aware only that Palmier was “released” from one other police department.
Several activists and community members who have protested Beshaw’s killing and police violence were initially turned away from Thursday’s news conference but later allowed into the event.
They expressed frustration with Donovan’s decision and claimed Winooski residents were living in fear of Palmier, who they say was known in the neighborhood to have acted violently in the past. One woman called for “systemic change” in how police protect communities.
Donovan, who is running for attorney general, said he wanted to listen and work with them on reforms to ensure police get better training and help police regain the public’s trust, but he affirmed to them that Palmier’s actions were justified.
Donovan also said his office faced pressure from media outlets and advocacy groups to release the body camera footage before state police completed their investigation.
He called for lawmakers and others to come together and implement a policy for how body camera footage, a relatively new public record, should be released to those requesting it.
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