Former Rutland City Police Sgt. Andrew Plemmons, 47, was sentenced Monday in Vermont Superior Court in Rutland to two years of probation for shooting and wounding two men during an on-duty traffic stop in 2023, the Vermont attorney general’s office announced. Plemmons pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment. The sentence includes a condition of 100 hours of community service. He faces up to one year in prison only if he violates the terms of his probation.
Plemmons had been charged in October 2024 with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and reckless endangerment, according to court documents previously reported by VTDigger, which originally published the story and distributed it through a partnership with The Associated Press. He could have faced up to 16 years in prison if convicted on both charges.
The charges stemmed from an incident in which Plemmons and another officer approached what they described as a “suspicious” vehicle occupied by two brothers from Massachusetts and told them they wanted to search it. When one of the brothers attempted to drive away, Plemmons fired into the vehicle, striking him, according to body camera footage summarized in court documents. When the second brother took the wheel and continued driving, Plemmons fired into the vehicle a second time, wounding him as well.
The Vermont attorney general’s office elected to pursue charges after concluding that Plemmons’ use of force against the second brother was “not justified.”
Plemmons resigned from the Rutland City Police Department last week, with his final day of employment on Saturday, according to Rutland City Police Sgt. Richard Caravaggio. He had been on paid administrative leave since being charged in October 2024, a period of roughly 18 months. Caravaggio said administrative leave is typically fully paid, though he could not speak to the specifics of Plemmons’ situation. Caravaggio added that the department would consider an internal investigation into the incident, which is standard protocol once criminal charges are resolved.
Plemmons’ attorney could not immediately be reached for comment, the AP reported.