Off-duty VT deputy involved in earlier gun battle shot by police after refusing to drop gun

Cops in upstate New York shot an allegedly noncompliant, off-duty Vermont sheriff’s deputy multiple times in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The deputy reportedly got into a verbal-that-turned-physical altercation with a group of men that prompted a downtown gunfight before nearby officers rushed to the scene.

The original confrontation started out as a barroom brawl and then spilled out into the street in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

According to the Vermont Free Press, the deputy and his adversary exchanged seven to eight shots prior to police intervention.

Authorities say the Vermonter ignored repeated officers’ instructions to put aside his weapon, according to officials. He is currently hospitalized in stable condition after being shot at least 11 times and was wounded 10 times, which may include entry and exit wounds.

An investigation by several law enforcement agencies is ongoing. The three officers involved were placed on administrative leave under standard protocol while the probe goes forward.

The city has released dramatic bodycam footage, which is uploaded to YouTube, that depicts one officer screaming at the man to drop the gun as shots ring out.

(*Warning: Intense content):

“The shooting beforehand involving the deputy and the group of men left two people injured. That shooting was sparked by an argument. A woman believed to be the deputy’s girlfriend suffered a graze wound and a man involved in the altercation was also injured. Three people had allegedly slammed the deputy into a parked vehicle before then pushing him to the ground. The deputy then pulled out a gun and exchanged gunfire with a member of the group who also had a firearm…The deputy ignored multiple orders from officers to put down his weapon, and police then proceeded to open fire,” Fox News reported.

The lawman’s girlfriend and the other man were also hospitalized but reportedly they are going to be okay.

At a news conference, Saratoga Springs Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino claimed that “By my count, there are at least eight separate, clear, unequivocal commands to put the gun down and get on the ground. They are all ignored.”

This 3 a.m. incident is the first time in nearly three decades that a Saratoga Springs cop fired a service weapon in an on-duty capacity.

“Outside of a training exercise, or putting down a rabid animal, this is the first time in 26 years that an officer of the Saratoga Springs Police Department had to discharge a firearm in the line of duty,” Montagnino recalled, NBC News reported.

The deputy sheriff reportedly works for Rutland County, Vt., Sheriff’s Office. Rutland is approximately 70 miles northeast of Saratoga Springs, which is the home of the famous Saratoga Race Course for thoroughbred horses.

A surveillance street camera released by the city purports to show the street fight in the upper part of the frame followed by the arrival of the police officers.

Watch:

This is a developing story. As of this writing, however, authorities have not filed charges against any person who might have been involved.

Note that all suspects are presumed innocent until or unless they are convicted in a court of law of any alleged crimes.

Watch a brief update on the incident from Albany NBC affiliate WTEN:

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