SPRINGFIELD — The Vermont State Police is continuing its investigation into last week’s fatal police shooting of a man in Springfield.
On Friday, detectives interviewed Springfield Police Officer Vincent T. Franchi and Windsor County Sheriff’s Deputy Bryan Jalava.
Both officers are fully cooperating with the investigation.
An autopsy on James Crary, 36, of Newport, New Hampshire, was completed Saturday at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington.
The autopsy determined Crary’s cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head, and the manner of death is a homicide.
Detectives have learned that members of the Springfield Police Department and the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department had responded shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 21 to 78 Valley St. as part of an open investigation.
When law enforcement arrived at the address, they encountered Crary in a vehicle outside the home.
Crary accelerated toward the officers, who were standing outside their vehicles.
At that point, Franchi and Jalava opened fire with their department-issued firearms.
Crary was struck by gunfire and pronounced dead on scene.
Franchi was hired by the Springfield Police Department as a fulltime officer in August 2020 and worked in that capacity until March 2024.
He returned to SPD as a fulltime officer in April.
Jalava started fulltime work with the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department in May 2024 after beginning his career with the Hinsdale, New Hampshire, Police Department in 2016 and later working for the Windham County Sheriff’s Department.
Both officers are on paid leave in accordance with standard protocol following a critical incident.
Upon completion of the investigation, the Vermont State Police will turn over the case to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the relevant State’s Attorney’s Office for independent reviews of the use of deadly force.
