Vermont man pleads innocent to crash that killed officer, held on $100,000 bail

Vermont authorities say a man accused of killing a 19-year-old police officer during a pursuit last week told investigators he didn't pull over before the fatal crash because getting arrested would hurt his chances of joining the Marines

A Vermont man accused of killing a 19-year-old police officer during a pursuit last week told investigators he didn’t pull over before the fatal crash because getting arrested would hurt his chances of joining the Marines, according to court documents released Monday.

Tate Rheaume, 20, pleaded innocent Monday to charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle and attempting to elude police, both with death resulting.

His attorney argued Rheaume should be released without bail and supervised by his sister, and that he wasn’t a flight risk given his strong family ties to the area and lack of a criminal record. But a judge ordered him held on $100,000 bail, agreeing with prosecutors that Rheaume’s behavior — namely fleeing from police — necessitated a high bail amount.

According to police, Rheaume was being chased by officers Friday afternoon when his pickup truck crossed the center line and collided head-on with a cruiser driven by Rutland City Police Officer Jessica Ebbighausen. Ebbighausen, who was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the cruiser, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect’s truck also hit another police cruiser. Two other officers and Rheaume were injured.

According to a police affidavit, the pursuit started after Rheaume broke into the home of an ex-girlfriend with whom he has two children. Concerned about his mental state, she had taken the children to her grandmother's house, but her boyfriend called police after seeing security camera footage of Rheaume at their home.

“Mr. Rheaume said that he didn’t want to get in trouble so when the police tried to stop him, he didn’t stop,” State Police Sgt. Jay Riggen wrote. “Mr. Rheaume said that he had ambitions to get into the Marine Corps and believed than an arrest for this offense would hurt this ambition.”

Rheaume also said he takes multiple prescriptions and had used cannabis that day, and described his sense of impairment at the time of the crash as a seven or eight on a scale of one to 10, Riggen said.