RUTLAND – The Vermont State Police are continuing to investigate the fatal shooting by a Rutland City Police Department officer that occurred Wednesday afternoon at a McDonald’s restaurant in the city.
The officer is identified as Cpl. Christopher A. Rose, who has served with the Rutland City Police Department for more than five years.
The deceased is Jonathan Daniel Mansilla, 33, of Coral Gables, Florida; his primary residence is known to be Miami. An autopsy performed Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington determined the cause of Mansilla’s death to be gunshot wounds of chest, and the manner of death is homicide – shot by other person (law enforcement).
The series of events that culminated in the fatal police shooting began with a hit-and-run car crash at about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday in the parking lot of the Goodwill store located at 230 N. Main St. in Rutland. Police agencies in the area were advised to be on the lookout for Mansilla’s vehicle, a black 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt. The victim of the hit-and-run crash later located the vehicle in the town of Wallingford and alerted a member of the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department who was on a nearby traffic stop.
Sheriff’s Department Lt. Kevin Geno cleared from the traffic stop and located the suspect vehicle headed north on U.S. Route 7 in Clarendon, where the deputy stopped the vehicle at about 2:15 p.m. Shortly after stopping, the operator, later identified as Mansilla, fled the scene and continued north. The deputy initiated a pursuit but lost sight of the vehicle and terminated the pursuit. The sheriff’s department began to search for the suspect vehicle in the vicinity of Vermont Route 103, Cold River Road and North Shrewsbury Road. Sheriff’s Department Lt. James Bennick located the vehicle in a driveway on North Shrewsbury Road, but Mansilla did not follow the officer’s commands and again fled from law enforcement.
Deputies pursued the vehicle onto Cold River Road and Stratton Road, where they determined the pursuit had become too dangerous and terminated the pursuit. Deputies observed the vehicle turn onto Allen Street and head west toward U.S. Route 7 (also known as South Main Street) in Rutland City. Mansilla’s vehicle crashed into the back of a UPS truck on Allen Street just east of U.S. Route 7 and adjacent to the McDonald’s.
The Rutland City and Rutland Town police departments also were responding to the situation. At about the time of the crash, Cpl. Rose became involved in the police response. Mansilla ran from the crash scene and into the McDonald’s with Cpl. Rose chasing him. Inside the restaurant, an altercation ensued between Mansilla and Cpl. Rose, at which time the officer discharged his duty weapon. Mansilla was struck and died of his injuries inside the McDonald’s. The circumstances surrounding that altercation remain under investigation, and no further details will be released until the Vermont State Police completes interviews with Cpl. Rose and witnesses.
Upon completion of the VSP investigation, the case will be handed over to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Bennington County State’s Attorney’s Office for independent reviews of the police use of deadly force. The Rutland County State’s Attorney’s Office recused itself from involvement in the case.
***Update No. 1, 7:25 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021***
Following initial investigation, the Vermont State Police is releasing preliminary information regarding this afternoon’s fatal officer-involved shooting in Rutland.
The deceased is a 33-year-old man. More information about his identity will be released following additional investigation and notification of next of kin. The man was fatally shot by a Rutland City Police Department officer inside the McDonald’s restaurant on U.S. Route 7 just south of the intersection with Allen Street shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Shortly before the shooting, there was a motor vehicle crash on Allen Street, immediately to the north of McDonald’s, involving a passenger car and a UPS delivery truck. The circumstances of that crash and what led up to it also are under active investigation by the Vermont State Police, along with the shooting that followed.
No other injuries were reported in connection with this incident.
The body of the deceased man will be transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.
The investigation remains in initial stages. Troopers are interviewing witnesses, reviewing any available video and audio, and processing the crime scene. The state police asks that anyone who might have information relevant to the investigation contact the VSP barracks in Rutland at 802-773-9101 or leave an anonymous tip online at http://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
When the investigation is complete, the Vermont State Police will turn over the case to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the State’s Attorney’s Office for independent reviews of the police officer’s use of deadly force.
The Vermont State Police will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.
Categories: Police Reports
Remember when VT was the safest state in the nation? Not all that long ago or far away…….
That was before the progressive left took over the state. We see it in burlington and evan Woke LL Bean is leaving burlington because of the crime going unpunished by a judicial system gone awry.