ARLINGTON – Prosecutors have charged a man with attempted murder and aggravated assault with a weapon following an officer-involved shooting Monday morning in Arlington, where they say a man fired multiple shots at troopers, who returned fire, and struck him.
The man, Matt Novick, 40, of Red Mountain Road in Arlington, is currently being treated at Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York, said Dan Trudeau, commander of the Vermont State Police criminal division, at a press briefing late Monday afternoon.
Vermont State Police said on Tuesday that he in critical but stable condition and is expected to be arrested and returned to Vermont upon his release from the hospital.
Trudeau said Novick suffered multiple gunshot wounds. His condition was not available Monday evening. “Other than him having had surgery early this morning we haven’t got a status update from the hospital,” the major said.
Trudeau added he wasn’t sure where Novick had been shot, or exactly how many times he was struck, saying that would all be part of the investigation.
A large state police presence remained at the scene Monday night, including several troopers, detectives, and forensic technicians. The state police crime scene vehicle as well as a mobile command center was also set up near the home.
Yellow police crime scene blocked the road several hundred feet from the scene.
The early-morning gunfire startled other residents of Red Mountain Road, a winding, steep, dirt road off Route 7A in Arlington.
“I just woke up and heard what I thought were gunshots,” said one resident who didn’t want to be identified and lives about half mile from the shooting scene.
“I was wondering why somebody was shooting that time of morning,” the man added, “and then I looked out and saw the cruisers sitting out here.”
The incident began around 3:50 a.m. Monday when state police received a 911 call from a relative of Novick who lives in a nearby home, Trudeau said. That relative reported that Novick was “experiencing a mental-health crisis.”
Police gave the following account: Two troopers from the Shaftsbury barracks arrived at the scene at about 4:40 a.m.
At the scene, troopers said they saw a man, later identified as Novick, standing near the doorway of the home and carrying what appeared to be an AK-47-style semi-automatic rifle.
The troopers parked in the road at the bottom of the driveway. A little after 5 a.m., police at the scene heard several gunshots being fired from the area of Novick’s home, prompting them to evacuate nearby residences, Trudeau said.
At about 5:50 a.m. Novick advanced down the driveway and engaged in gunfire with the two troopers.
“Preliminary investigation indicates Novick had advanced down the driveway and fired in the direction of law enforcement,” a state police news release issued early Monday afternoon stated. “Troopers took cover and returned fire. Novick was struck multiple times.”
Asked at the later press briefing who fired first, Novick or the troopers, Trudeau replied, “We’re still trying to determine that … we have some interviews to do.”
In addition to state police, officers from several other nearby departments responded to the scene.
Trudeau said he wasn’t yet sure if any cruiser or police body cameras had any video of the shooting. “We haven’t gotten to a point to download anything like that so I can’t say for certain,” the major said.
Investigators, he said, are still trying to piece together what prompted Novick, who has no previous criminal record, to engage in a shootout with police.
“The mental distress call was made by a family member, but we don’t have any independent information at this point to indicate that it’s actually mental distress or something else,” added Bennington County State’s Attorney Erica Marthage, the county’s top prosecutor.
Trudeau did say that police had been called to the Red Mountain Road home once before, in November, for a reported family fight, though no charges were ever filed in connection with that incident. No additional information on that incident was immediately available Monday.
The two troopers who fired their weapons were Shawn Sommers and Raymond Witkowski. The troopers have been placed on paid administrative leave for at least five days, per state police policy.
The Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit is investigating the shooting, and it will be reviewed by both the Vermont Attorney General’s office and Bennington County State’s Attorney’s office to determine whether it was justified.
Vermont State Police had been reviewing its use of force policies following three fatal shootings involving Vermont State Police over a six-month span, from Sept. 1, 2017, to Feb. 11, 2018. In each case, prosecutors ruled that officers were justified in their use of deadly force.
Just last week, prosecutors cleared a trooper of any wrongdoing in another officer-involved shooting in Bennington County. In that case, a trooper shot a Pownal man who authorities said refused orders to drop his shotgun.
That suspect, Bernard Rougeau, 48, has since been released from the hospital and has been jailed on charges related to the incident.
“The frequency of these incidents is highly concerning, and the police, public, mental-health community and leaders of the state need to closely examine this trend and work hard to reverse it,” Col. Matthew T. Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, said in a statement issued Monday afternoon.
“Today we are fortunate to have avoided the murder of multiple state troopers,” he added. “I am thankful no police officers were injured, and that there was no loss of life.”