Trooper Jacques Rougeau, Jr.
Officer: Pennsylvania State Police, Trooper Jacques F. Rougeau, Jr.
Date: 6/17/2023 Location: Walker Township, PA FACTORS (1,2,4,7,8,15,20)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Brandon Stine
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Yes, Stine served time for a 2004 DWI conviction. / Yes, Stine was shooting at police vehicles and ambushing police officers.
Mental Illness: Yes, Stine’s family reports he was “experiencing psychosis” and they contacted the police a week earlier trying to get him “involuntarily hospitalized” for his “erratic behavior”.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown. / None stated.
Race/Sex/Age: White/Male/38
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At around 11 a.m. on June 17, 2023 Brandon Stine shot several Pennsylvania State Police cars parked at the Lewistown Station. Stine then drove around calling 911 before shooting and critically wounding a Pennsylvania State Police Lt. In response to the shootings, officers were driving around actively searching for Brandon Stine.
Actions taken by subject toward police: Using his high powered.458 caliber hunting rifle, Stine shot through the patrol vehicle’s windshield and killed Trooper Rougeau from a distance while the trooper was driving around looking for him. As officers closed in on him, Stine drove his vehicle across a yard and “got stuck against a row of trees.”
Reactions by the police: Officers returned fire against the cornered Stine and ultimately killed him during the gunfight.
How murdered? Trooper Rougeau was ambushed and shot from a distance while searching for a suspect that recently shot at parked police cars and seriously injured a police lieutenant.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? NA, was doing his job and diligently looking for an armed suspect – demonstrating how officers knowingly placing themselves in harm’s way.
Would the officer have been justified in using deadly force before being murdered? Trooper Rougeau was ambushed and shot from a distance without even seeing his killer.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Stine was justifiably killed during the shootout with police.
Miscellaneous: Trooper Rougeau “went to work on his day off after learning his barracks had been attacked by an armed man.”
