Man attacking an officer cruiser with a baseball bat, is fatally shot by a deputy in Thermopolis

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Thermopolis, WY - A 41-year-old Thermopolis man was killed in an officer- and deputy-involved shooting in town Monday evening, while a police officer and sheriff’s office deputy have been placed on paid leave, the town has confirmed.

Jared Gottula, 41, lived in the area of Clark and Third streets and became the subject of a police welfare check Monday evening when a neighbor saw him thrashing his home and surroundings with a baseball bat while yelling and screaming, the neighbor told Cowboy State Daily at the scene.

A joint statement dispatched Tuesday morning by the town of Thermopolis and the Hot Springs County Sheriff’s Office says a Thermopolis Police Department (TPD) officer was called to the scene at about 5:25 p.m. for the welfare check.

Gottula confronted the officer with a metal baseball bat and struck the officer’s patrol car with it, says the statement.

A witness on scene who declined to be identified publicly told Cowboy State Daily that the man with the baseball bat, now known as Gottula, kept trying to get into the officer’s car and twice managed to get the door open. The witness also said the officer hit the man with his car during the scuffle.

A Hot Springs County Sheriff’s deputy then arrived as backup, and a struggle followed.

One neighbor heard the grunting sounds of a possible wrestling match.

At some point during the struggle, “lethal force was deployed,” says the joint statement, adding that Gottula was pronounced dead on scene.

Neighbors heard anywhere from six to 12 gunshots, depending on their location, according to multiple interviews Cowboy State Daily conducted on scene.

There was no information in Tuesday’s statement confirming how many shots were fired during the altercation or from whom.

Both the officer and the deputy were not hurt.