Attorney General’s Office Concludes Review of Ludlow Police Officer-Involved Shooting and Deems Use of Force Justified

Ludlow Police Chief Will Not Be Prosecuted for Non-Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting

The Attorney General's Office today announced the conclusion of its independent review of a non-fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred on January 1, 2026, in Ludlow, Vermont. Attorney General Charity Clark has declined to prosecute Ludlow Police Department Chief Jeffrey Warfle for charges related to the use of deadly force in the non-fatal shooting of Jaime Gomez, 18.

The incident began around 6:22 a.m. on January 1, 2026, when Chief Warfle traveled to the Fox Run Inn in Lulow in response to a 911 call to investigate a reported noise disturbance. The 911 caller had reported that the noise was coming from another occupant who lived in the first-floor unit directly below.

Upon arrival, Chief Warfle approached the first-floor unit, knocked on the door, and spoke with Jaime Gomez, who was the suspected source of the noise and was previously known to Chief Warfle.

Chief Warfle told Mr. Gomez about the noise report, to which Mr. Gomez repeatedly asked, "What was I yelling about?" Chief Warfle responded that he did not know, but that he would go ask the complainant and would come back. Based on Mr. Gomez's mannerisms, Chief Warfle commented at one point, "You seem like you're maybe in crisis," to which Gomez responded, "No crisis." This initial interaction with Mr. Gomez was peaceful and lasted approximately three minutes.

After speaking with Mr. Gomez, Chief Warfle walked up an exterior staircase to speak with the complainant, who lived in a second-floor unit. While Chief Warfle was interacting with the complainant outside their door at approximately 6:27 a.m., Mr. Gomez ascended the same staircase with his hands in his jacket pockets.

As Mr. Gomez approached, Chief Warfle extended his own left hand in a stop gesture while asking Mr. Gomez four times to remove his hands from his jacket pockets. When Mr. Gomez, who did not stop, reached the second-floor landing, Chief Warfle told Mr. Gomez to stop seven more times while keeping his left hand extended in a stop gesture.

Chief Warfle again asked Mr. Gomez to, "Please take your hands out of your pockets for me." To which Mr. Gomez responded, "I'm good bro, I don't have anything." Mr. Gomez then attempted to strike Chief Warfle with a knife that Mr. Gomez had concealed in a jacket pocket. At this time, Mr. Gomez and Chief Warfle were, at most, less than ten feet apart.

In response to Mr. Gomez's attempt to strike him with a knife, Chief Warfle drew his weapon and fired two 9mm rounds from his Glock 45 sidearm at Mr. Gomez. One round grazed Mr. Gomez's left forearm, and another round pierced his abdomen. After discharging his weapon, Chief Warfle called for additional officers and emergency medical services to the scene. Mr. Gomez was arrested and transported to a nearby hospital.

The Attorney General's Office concludes that, pursuant to 13 V.S.A. § 2305(3), under the totality of the circumstances, Chief Warfle reasonably believed that he was in imminent danger of being killed or suffering great bodily harm and was, therefore, justified in using deadly force.

Under Vermont law, an officer may use deadly force to repel an imminent threat to cause death or serious bodily injury to themselves when they objectively and reasonably believe that a person has the present ability, opportunity, and apparent intent to immediately cause death or serious bodily injury. 20 V.S.A. §§ 2368(a)(4) and 2068(c)(1)(A). Further, the use of deadly force is 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. 20 V.S.A. § 2368(c)(2).

Under the totality of these circumstances, an objectively reasonable officer in Chief Warfle's position would have concluded that there was no other reasonable alternative than the use of deadly force to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or others.

Caledonia State's Attorney Claire Burns, acting as conflict counsel on behalf of the Windsor County State's Attorney's Office, also declined to prosecute the case after completing her own independent review. In reaching their decisions, the Attorney General's Office and the Caledonia State's Attorney's Office reviewed all materials provided by Vermont State Police, who conducted the investigation.

CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Senior Advisor to the Attorney General, 802-828-3171