Vermont State Police are investigating a non-fatal police shooting in Rutland where a local officer fired his gun at two men in a car.
Police say the men who were shot are 21-year-old twin brothers from Springfield, Massachusetts: Randy Perez-Coiscou and Andy Perez-Coiscou. Both men are currently hospitalized at the University of Vermont Medical Center. State police did not release details on the extent or type of injuries the men suffered.
The brothers were in a car that Rutland City Police officer Sgt. Andrew Plemmons and officer James Rajda began investigating as a “suspicious vehicle,” according to state police. The car was parked near the Giorgetti Athletic Complex on Monday night around 8:30 p.m.
Police say Plemmons fired his gun when the car started to move. The car continued down the street and then crashed, police say.
Rajda received a minor injury to one of his arms during the incident. Police didn’t recover any weapons connected to Randy or Andy Perez-Coiscou.
The brothers both face criminal charges from the incident. Randy Perez-Coiscou faces two felony charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. He pleaded not guilty to those charges during a video arraignment on Wednesday. According to state police, he’s in the custody of the Department of Corrections and being held on $10,000 bail.
Andy Perez-Coiscou was cited for possession of fentanyl. He’s set to be arraigned in August.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing and state police detectives will review body camera and cruiser camera footage of the incident, as well as any video from surveillance cameras in the area. Rutland City Police just got body cameras at the beginning of this year, according to WCAX.
State police say once the investigation is complete, they’ll turn the case over to the attorney general’s office and a state’s attorney’s office for a review of the use of force, a standard procedure in police shootings.
Plemmons, a patrol sergeant, has been with Rutland City Police since November 2014. Rajda, a patrol K-9 officer, has worked with the department since September 2018.
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