Vermont trooper not being prosecuted in officer-involved shooting

MONTPELIER, Vt. (NEWS10) -- Vermont State Trooper Adam Roaldi will not be prosecuted for charges related to the fatal officer-involved shooting from June 12. The Attorney General's Office and the Orange County State's Attorney's Office both declined to prosecute.

Vermont State Police said Trooper Adam Roaldi was conducting a welfare check on Wednesday at a home on Spencer Road in the town of Orange when he found 41-year-old Jason Lowery, of Vermont, unconscious in a car in the driveway of the home. Police said a sawed-off shotgun was also in the car.

Lowery woke up on his own and the two men allegedly fought over the gun after Lowery got out of the car. It is alleged that Lowery pointed the sawed-off shotgun at Trooper Roaldi, so the trooper fired his weapon three times.

The trooper then fired three more times because Lowery allegedly continued to manipulate the sawed-off shotgun. Lowery was pronounced dead on the scene.

The Attorney General's Office said, "Under Vermont law, an officer may use deadly force to repel an imminent threat to cause death or serious bodily injury when the officer objectively and reasonably believes that a person has the present ability, opportunity, and apparent intent to immediately cause death or serious bodily injury. Furthermore, the use of deadly force is deemed necessary when, given the totality of the circumstances, an objectively reasonable officer in the same situation would conclude that there was no reasonable alternative to the use of deadly force that would prevent death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person."