A man who was shot and wounded by a Burlington police officer on Sunday is facing charges related to the incident, according to court records.
A judge found probable cause to charge Aaron Loucks, 32, of Burlington, with two counts of aggravated disorderly conduct. Prosecutors added a hate crime enhancement to one of the charges and say Loucks was yelling racial slurs at one of his neighbors, who is Black.
Loucks has not been arraigned on the charges yet because he’s still in the hospital, said Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George in an email on Thursday.
Burlington police went to Loucks’ apartment on Sunday after getting reports of a shirtless man yelling aggressively out of the window of the residence, according to a police affidavit. Officers had been to the apartment two days before because Loucks was outside “screaming at nobody in particular,” throwing things and tearing up a neighbor’s garden, the affidavit says.
On Sunday, when police arrived at the apartment on Riverside Avenue, Loucks spoke to officers through his second story window. He was pointing a knife at officers and was yelling things at them like “I want you all to die,” the affidavit says.
Neighbors told the officers that Loucks had been acting erratically and was scaring them. Several people told police that he was pretending to hold a gun and shoot at people and yelling things like “I am death and I will kill you now,” the affidavit says. Another neighbor, who is Black, said that Loucks started yelling racial slurs and called her a “slave” when she walked outside.
Loucks barricaded himself in his apartment and a nine-hour standoff ensued. Eventually, Loucks left his apartment and confronted the officers, according to Vermont State Police. Police tried to use “non-deadly force measures” but were unsuccessful and officer Brady McGee shot Loucks with his patrol rifle, state police said in a press release.
Loucks was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center for treatment.
Loucks has a history of mental health struggles and drug use. In December 2020 he faced charges for smashing windows on Church Street with a hammer.
Around that time, police got reports that Loucks was paranoid and believed COVID-19 precautions and vaccines were part of a government conspiracy to control people. Loucks reportedly bought a gun to “protect himself and his family,” according to an affidavit filed by an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Federal prosecutors charged Loucks with possessing a firearm while being a user of controlled substances in January 2021, and Loucks pleaded guilty the following year. He was placed on five years of probation, which included a condition that he get mental health treatment.
McGee was placed on paid administrative leave while state police investigate the shooting. The attorney general’s office and a county prosecutor will also review the incident to determine if the shooting was legally justified.
McGee joined the Burlington Police Department in 2018 and left to join the Darien, Connecticut, Police Department in March 2022. He returned to the Queen City in November 2022.
